


The Annoyance Next Door

by thenoahfosterr



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Alternate Universe - No Werewolves, Aromantic!Jackson Whittemore, Asexual!Jackson Whittemore, Bisexual!Derek Hale, Bisexual!Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale finds happiness, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-23 22:57:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10729014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenoahfosterr/pseuds/thenoahfosterr
Summary: Derek loves his apartment. It's big, spacious, and it makes him feel free. It's conveniently located near a twenty-four hour grocery store, and near enough to most of his friends that he can see them whenever he likes. It's in Oakland city, a couple of days drive from Beacon Hills.He's a very successful architect, so technically he could have a house if he wanted, but he likes the apartment. Likes the space it gives him.There's only one small problem - and it probably wouldn't even irritate him if he was a sociable person - his neighbour. He's never met 403 in person but he knows he wouldn't like him. The guy makes so much damn noise, and he only knows it's a man from the amount of deep voiced swearing he hears whenever something is dropped.But neighbours aside, it's a great apartment. He loves living alone.





	The Annoyance Next Door

**Author's Note:**

> A/N Hi reader! I really hope you enjoy this fic! Just to make everyone aware, in this fanfic, Stiles is 22 and Derek is 26 as this then makes sense for the timeline and backstory I've created. Also, please please let me know if I haven't used some tags or I've used the wrong ones, I am very new to publishing on this website!
> 
> Dedicated to my best friend in the entire world, Lyds, who has always been by my side and helped me through the most frustrating times of writing this book (can I call it that?? Probably not!) but anyway, she helps me through my life everyday and I couldn't do it without her.

Derek loves his apartment. It's big, spacious, and it makes him feel free. It's conveniently located near a twenty-four hour grocery store, and near enough to most of his friends that he can see them whenever he likes. It's in Oakland city, a couple of days drive from Beacon Hills.

He's a very successful architect, so technically he could have a house if he wanted, but he likes the apartment. Likes the space it gives him.

There's only one small problem - and it probably wouldn't even irritate him if he was a sociable person - his neighbour. He's never met 403 in person but he knows he wouldn't like him. The guy makes so much damn noise, and he only knows it's a man from the amount of deep voiced swearing he hears whenever something is dropped.

But neighbours aside, it's a great apartment. He loves living alone. 

\--

The fire happens on a cold winter night. His cousin, Malia, is staying for the weekend and they had been watching some stupid show about teenage werewolves when he hears the fire alarm.

Malia picks up on it to, grabbing her phone and tucking it into her pocket. They head out the door, banging it shut. Malia is jogging down the stairs, yelling at him to hurry up, but he swears he can hear something.

Derek strains his ears, moving towards 403 to see if it's coming from inside, which is when he notices the smoke pouring out from under the door.

He knows what the noise is now - he can hear that same infuriating voice, however this time it's not infuriating, it's horrifying. He's yelling - screaming - for help, and Derek feels sick to his stomach. Logically, he should wait for the fire services to arrive and send them to get him, but he can't do it. He can't.

He shoves open the door, letting the smoke fill the hallway instead. He sees no signs of danger at the front, so he cautiously makes his way inside the house. It's not what he expected - he expected an apartment littered with bottles, messy, and smelling like drugs. But it's a simple apartment, filled with bookshelves, pictures of family and friends, and a ton of history books.

Derek carries on looking for the voice, when he sees the source. A bookshelf has fallen in front of a door, and it's obviously trapped the owner inside. He panics, his insides filling with fear as he rushes towards the bookshelf.

“Oh god, please, please be okay.” He mutters as he pushes the bookshelf away from the door, not caring that he crushes most of the books, figuring that the guy cares more about his life than belongings.

After what feels like hours, he manages to get the door open. He doesn't know what he expects to see, someone crying with relief probably, but he doesn't. All he sees is a boy passed out on the floor. He's wearing flannel pyjama bottoms, a grey t-shirt, and his hair is messy. He has moles scattered across his face and cupid’s bow lips, but Derek can't tell what colour his eyes are, mainly because they're closed.

He hurries, jolting into action. He scoops the surprisingly light boy up into a bridal style carry and rushes out of the room, just as he feels the heat of the fire against his cheek, burning his skin like when he's been laying in the sun too long.

He runs down the stairs, careful to cradle the boy’s head as he makes it out into the courtyard. He sees a couple of people he recognises - the grumpy man from upstairs who insists on being called “Coach” Finstock, and then there's Melissa, the kind nurse who always bakes a cake for him on his birthday, even though he usually forgets it.

“Stiles!” Melissa shrieks, running towards him so Derek guesses that she knows him as well. Malia materialises out of nowhere, saying something about getting the boy - Stiles - into an ambulance but Derek just shakes his head, clinging to the boy for dear life until he can see the ambulance for himself.

Stiles is prised out of his arms by Melissa, who speaks calmingly and soothingly despite the situation, and Malia gently pulls him towards her car, muttering that they'll follow the ambulance to the hospital.

Derek just follows her quietly, his mind swirling.

\--

It's been five hours since they arrived at the hospital, and still he's heard nothing. Malia had apparently called nearly everyone Derek knows, because Cora has arrived, and he's received about five hundred texts from his parents and Laura, explaining that they can't be there but they want him to call them back immediately.

Isaac’s there too, pacing back and forth, eating a packet of candy that he'd managed to swipe from Erica. The blonde haired girl is sitting beside Derek, patting his arm gently, whilst simultaneously talking to Boyd, who is, as always, calm and collected, keeping the peace.

Malia keeps running to the desk and demanding for Derek to be let in, even though he's tried to tell her that he'll wait like everyone else.

“Finally!” Malia shrieks as a doctor appears, holding a clipboard and calling Derek’s name, which he'd given to the Sheriff of the town who'd asked him about the accident.

“How is he? Is he gonna be okay? What's going on? When can I see him?” This comes from a boy that Derek doesn't know, a tanned boy with puppy dog eyes and an uneven jawline, who's clutching hands with a pretty Asian girl, who looks equally concerned.

“Mr McCall, I have to ask you calm down. Mr Stilinski wants to see all of you but I'm afraid at the moment we can only allow one person in at a time, per his father’s request. You or Mr Hale are free to negotiate.” The doctor replies, gesturing towards Derek who instantly freezes, looking at the boy.

He clears his throat, “You can uh, you can, it’s okay, I'll wait.” He mutters, gesturing to nothing in particular.

The boy sighs, rubbing a hand over his face, “It’s alright,” he says, in a way that suggests it obviously isn't, “I'll be in there for years, knowing us, so you can go first. But just.. don't be too long?” He asks. Derek promises he'll be as quick as possible and then follows the doctor silently into the room.

He's always hated hospitals, ever since Cora had broken her arm and they'd all had to traipse into the too hot, too small room to wait for her to be okay. He's always hated the smell and the sight of all the people, making him feel nauseated.

The doctor opens the door and then leaves, saying he'll be back in five minutes. Derek nods absentmindedly, staring at the boy who's watching him with a look he can't read. His eyes are a beautiful, chocolate brown, but when he looks into the light, they're almost amber, with specks of green dancing in the irises.

“So you're the guy who saved my life? I'm Stiles, Stiles Stilinski, and I would shake your hand but I'm pretty tied up here,” Stiles laughs, like he's told a really funny joke, “so what's your name? I deserve to know the name of my brave hero.”

Derek, for lack of anything else to say, just asks, “Stiles? Is that a name?” and instantly regrets it when the boy rolls his eyes. He thinks he's made the boy angry but apparently not, because he instantly carries on talking about how it's short for something unpronounceable. Derek simply sinks into the hard chair beside the bed and looks at the boy, studying his face.

Silence, and Derek realises that the boy is waiting for an answer to a question he doesn't know. “Derek.” An eyebrow raise, “oh, sorry, um, I'm Derek. Derek Hale.’ He tells him, playing with his fingers in his lap.

“Oh, no way! Malia’s your sister then? She's great, man, she runs a self-defence class at my school, she's brilliant.”

Derek vaguely remember stories about a teacher that Malia talked to sometimes, but she hadn't ever mentioned Stiles by name,“Cousin. You're still in school? How old are you?”

Stiles laughs, which is a sound Derek prefers a lot to him screaming for help, “No, I'm a teacher. I'm only twenty six, but I guess I aged well.” He winks, and Derek doesn't know how to respond, just grunting.

“I guess you don't talk much. Still, I talk a lot so we make a great pair. Anyway, what's your job anyway? Let me guess, badass police officer slash part-time firefighter and you're also a model in your free time?”

“How are you not shaken up about the fire? You were passed out on the floor.” Derek interrupts, slightly rudely but this time he doesn't care.

“Oh, it wasn't from the smoke, I had a panic attack because of the fire.” He explains, waving his hands about as he speaks. Derek notes that these are also covered in moles, it seems like all of Stiles is.

“Architect. Not police officer slash model or whatever it was you said.” Derek mutters, offering a close mouthed smile that he hopes doesn't make him look pained.

“Seriously? You're like, the coolest person I've ever met. And I thought Scotty was cool, but man, you're a whole different league!”

Derek’s unsure if this is a compliment or not so he just says thanks, although it comes out like a question. 

To break the silence, a man pops his head in the door. Derek recognises him as the police officer and he wonders if he needs to answer any more questions about anything, but the man disregards him and hands Stiles a Hershey’s bar.

“Why do you gotta keep getting yourself in trouble, son? You're giving me a heart attack every single day,” the man pauses and notices Derek, his eyebrows raising, “Oh, it's you! I didn't know you were friends with Stiles.” He smiles at him.

“No, dad, that's the guy who saved me from my apartment.”

The Sheriff gapes at him and Derek would laugh at how much he looks like a fish if it weren't for the situation. He figures it’s definitely not a time for laughing when the man’s eyes fill with tears, which he quickly blinks away. “Thanks, for saving my son’s life. If you hadn't got there, I don't know what.. the firefighters, they didn't get there quick enough to get to Stiles’s apartment.” 

Derek feels awkward now, sitting here being treated like a hero when all he did was something extremely risky that could've been planned better. He simply says it's nothing, and then nods to Stiles, going to leave the room when he hears Stiles, now talking to his dad, yelp.

“Oh, dad! Where am I going to live?” Stiles’ voice is rising with panic and Derek doesn't have to be a doctor to hear that his heart monitor is going crazy. The Sheriff starts comforting Stiles, explaining that they don't have the money to buy a new apartment, and that he'll have to stay somewhere else, when Derek makes possibly the strangest decision he's ever made.

“He can stay with me. In my apartment.” 

\--

In hindsight, Derek doesn't know why he decided to take Stiles in. Stiles and his dad had both protested, saying Derek didn't have to, but Derek protested stubbornly. After all, his apartment has more than enough space.

So that's how he ended up here. Malia is hugging him, standing at the door of the apartment, when Stiles appears at the door sheepishly, apologising for arriving early but saying that he wanted to get settled in ready for school the next day. Malia shoots Derek one of her famous “text me everything or else” looks, before hugging Stiles and bidding the both of them goodbye.

Stiles stands in the doorway, shuffling from one foot to the other until Derek says, “You can come in, you know? This is your apartment too, now.” 

Stiles nods, as if he was waiting to be invited in, and walks inside, dragging two suitcases behind him, as well as a pillow which is tucked underneath his armpit. Derek doesn't ask.

“Dad was gonna come but I told him you don't do people, cause you don't, I mean, I've only ever seen you with the same five or six people, not that I can talk, y’know, awkward, flailing guy over here.” Stiles pauses his rambling, looking around the kitchen expectantly, “do we have any Nutella? I'm craving the stuff.” Derek pretends not to notices that Stiles is already referring to them as ‘we’ and simply hands him the jar, because it's easier.

Derek decides it's quicker if he just follows Stiles around as he unpacks, instead of trying to help. It seems that Stiles works better if he's allowed to ramble and think things through, and Derek’s perfectly content to just quietly help. He's never really been much of a people person, anyway.

“So, this is the guest room? Look, dude, I feel bad, like, taking over your apartment and stuff but it kinda feels off if the room’s completely empty so is it okay if I put some decorations up? I know it interrupts your ‘I have no emotions’ thing but..” Stiles trails off as he dumps his bags down and begins pulling stuff out, even though Derek hadn't actually answered yet.

“Yeah. Stiles, I'm going to the grocery store, so write down anything you want on a piece of paper and then I'll grab it.. if you want to invite friends round, that's fine, but just ask me first,” Derek stops in realisation, “oh, you'll need my phone number.” He stops, grabbing his phone out of his pocket. It was about a year or so old but Derek had never seen the point in upgrading his phone every two minutes.

Stiles nods absentmindedly, handing his unlocked phone for Derek to put his number in. Derek sends himself a message which reads ‘send grocery list’. Stiles now occupies himself by busily arranging some books that appear to be in Greek, and Derek is sure he's not listening to a word, but he says goodbye anyway, and reminds the younger man to send him a text of what groceries he wants.

Derek runs a hand through his hair as he jogs out of the apartment block. After the fire, half of it was looking very run down but his - and Stiles’s - apartment seemed to be still intact.

He clambers into his car, pretending not to notice that the blue jeep that he knows belongs to Stiles was now parked in the apartment number 405 instead of 403. It wasn't that he didn't like Stiles (he didn't really know Stiles, so he couldn't exactly have an opinion) but he was so used to living on his own and being domestic with someone else was, for lack of a better word, different.

He pushes the thoughts to the back of his mind and focuses on driving to the store. It only takes him about five minutes and he could easily have walked it but he figures if he’s shopping for two, that there might be more bags than usual.

The beeping of his phone chiming interrupts what was usually a silent shop, and he wonders for a brief second who it could be, until he remembers Stiles. He pulls it out, studying the screen. An unknown number, which he quickly saves as ‘Stiles’ and reads the message, which was definitely from Stiles, in case there had been anyone else texting him who he didn't know. Somehow Derek deems this unlikely.

The text reads ‘Hellooo just here to tell you my shopping list. Just grab enough food for two?? I don't have any preference but unless you're mega healthy, PIZZA. S :)’ For some reason, this particular text makes him smile. He doesn’t what it is about Stiles that was special, there was just something different about him.

He doesn’t bothering replying, simply walking into the store and grabbing a cart instead of his usual small basket. He instantly knows that it was a bad idea when he walks in and is met with the horrific sight of Mrs B. The town’s biggest gossip and he already knew that it would get out somehow, him living with Stiles, but she was so damn annoying and he'd been hoping he could avoid her.

He pushes his cart through the doors (of course it's one of the carts that squeaks and doesn't roll properly) and quickly whizzes past Mrs B, who doesn't notice him from her position studying the prices of the eggs. He breathes a sigh of relief as he finds himself in the dairy aisle, and begins looking for his favourite brand of milk when the tanned boy from the hospital appears around the corner.

He debates pretending he hasn't seen him but figures that this boy is better than Mrs B, and so he waits until Stiles’s friend spots him. When he does, his face breaks out into a wide smile, displaying dimples and his eyes crinkle at the corners.

“Hey! You're the guy that saved Stiles, right? I'm Scott, I'm his best friend.” Scott introduces himself, reaching for a bottle of low fat milk as he talks.

“Derek, and yeah, I.. I didn't save him, I just helped.” Derek says sheepishly, putting some more cartons of milk in his basket, “you wouldn't happen to know what kind of cereal Stiles likes?” 

Scott nods and together they walk throughout the aisles, with Scott commentating on everything Stiles likes, and Derek's just doing his best to take mental notes. When they reach the tills - Mrs B avoided - he waves goodbye to Scott, and gives him a real smile.

He pays for the groceries and makes a hasty exit, in case Mrs B is still lurking around, before rushing to his car and clambering in. He drives back to the apartment as quickly as possible, to check that all the groceries are okay.

He unlocks the door with his key and walks inside, noticing Stiles immediately. The boy is sitting on one of the counters, eating Nutella straight out the jar and scrolling through his phone with the spare hand. He flails slightly when he sees Derek but composes himself, grinning and displaying chocolate all of his teeth.

“Check the groceries and make sure they're okay. Though if they're not, you have to go back. Mrs B drives me insane and she's lurking.” He hands Stiles the groceries and then figures that even though it's the weekend, he should get some work done.

He walks into his office, sitting down and looking to see what he has to get done when his phone chimes again. Picking it up, he sees it's a message from Erica, which just reads ‘me n boyd coming over. might bring curly haired baby’. He assumes that she means Isaac, and he rolls his eyes. He would text her that he's busy but knows from experience that it won't stop her, so he just leaves it.

He pads back into the kitchen to see Stiles putting groceries away - and he's still clutching his Nutella jar, which by now is nearly finished. Stiles reaches up to put the cereal in the cupboard above the fridge, and his top rises up, exposing the mole scattered skin. 

“Need some help?” Derek asks, and refrains himself from laughing at Stiles’s offended yelp. It's worth it for the packet of sliced bread that gets thrown at his head, courtesy of Stiles.

Together they fill the fridge and cupboards up with the food, the conversation filled with horror stories about Mrs B, and apparently they've both had plenty of them.

“I'll make dinner.” Stiles says immediately and Derek looks at him with a question on his lips. 

“You don't have to, you're the guest.”

“Nope, I'm not. I live here for now and I'm not going to let you do everything yourself, so get used to it, Sourwolf.”

Derek raises his eyebrows but can't help grinning at the nickname, “Sourwolf? Really? Why?”

Stiles shrugs as he finishes putting the cereal away, smiling at the brands which Derek knows now are his favourite, “I don't know, you've kind of got this tough guy, werewolf thing going on.”

“I'll take it as a compliment.” Derek teases. Between the two, they decide the best possible course of action is movie, and pizza, which Stiles is ordering (after he admits he is not the best cook).

They make it about halfway through the film when the doorbell rings, and Derek rolls his eyes, knowing exactly who it is. “My friends are here, but you can just stay out here and hang out with us.” Derek assures him.

Erica swaggers in first, her hair curled and up in a bun. Her hand is firmly clutched in Boyd’s, who is followed by a reluctant looking Isaac. 

“This must be Stiles,” Erica says, stopping in her tracks in a way that would have been funny if it weren't for the look on her face. It's a look she gets every single time Derek is around a male that isn't Boyd or Isaac, and he has learnt to fear it. She saunters over to him, sitting down and beginning to talk about living with Derek.

Derek rolls his eyes, fleeing to the kitchen to get beers. Isaac follows him anxiously, leaving Stiles to fend for himself, whilst Boyd just looks amused by the whole situation.

Isaac, unlike Stiles, makes use of the stools in the kitchen, and he sits beside the countertop. He asks about Stiles and Derek answers with short answers, not wanting to get too into it. It's not that he likes Stiles, or anything, he just isn't sure how he feels about living with someone else.

“I'm not sure how weekdays are gonna work though, do you think he'll need a lift or anything?” Derek asks, after explaining Stiles’s job at the town’s elementary school. 

Isaac shrugs, “I don't know, man.” and then goes on to explain about his new job at the vets, and how nice his new boss is. Derek doesn't realise it's Scott until Isaac tells him that the boss knows Stiles.

“Is it Scott? Scott McCall?” Derek asks as his coffee maker spills out the coffee after a lot of eye rolls and button pressing.

Isaac nods, and continues rambling about his job. Derek instantly knows that he and Stiles will get along just fine, the question is if they'll be able to stop talking at any point during their conversations.

As if he's a mind reader, Stiles rushes into the kitchen, muttering about making a daring escape. He notices Isaac’s top, which is some Spider-Man thing, and instantly gravitates towards the boy, chatting eagerly about the new film, and some actor they both like. Derek leaves them to it, carrying Erica’s coffee and Boyd’s beer into the living area.

Erica has commandeered his TV and switched the channel to her favourite show, which is about wedding dresses. Derek laughs at the slightly scared look on Boyd’s face as the bride on the TV starts throwing things as he hands the older man his beer.

Stiles and Isaac come hurtling through the living area towards the guest room, which now belongs to Stiles. Stiles grabs the bag of Doritos from the couch and pats Derek’s arm as they rush past excitedly, acting like a pair of over excited five year olds.

Erica raises her eyebrows, attention deterred from the bridezilla and now focused on Derek. “So.. Stiles. He seems nice.” She smirks as though she can read Derek’s mind, stretching her legs out onto Boyd’s lap.

“Yeah, he is.” Derek shoots back, stubbornly refusing to fall into Erica’s trap. 

“And? Anything there? I'd tap that, if it weren't for Boyd over here.” Erica jokes, wiggling her eyebrows. Boyd looks mildly offended but amused, sipping on his beer like he's watching his favourite reality show.

“I barely know him, we’re just friends.” Derek protests, hoping Stiles can't hear the embarrassing conversation.

“Every good relationship starts as just friends.” Boyd offers, which earns him a proud look from Erica, and a kiss. The two are so disgustingly cute and Derek admits he does feel slightly lonely look at them.

The last person he dated was Kate, and he still gets flashbacks from her. She was abusive, vindictive and all she really wanted was a physical relationship, whereas he had fallen hard for her. She'd manipulated him, hurt his family, insulted his friends and tried to make him leave his family for her, which he couldn't do. Nothing meant more to him than his family.

He shakes his head, dismissing the thoughts. He heads back into the kitchen alone, allowing himself a minute to calm down. 

He sinks to the floor, placing his head in his hands as he desperately tries to shake away the thoughts, needing to even out his breathing. He thinks he is about okay, when Stiles walks in.

He notices Derek instantly, paling, and sinking to the floor so he is seated in front of Derek. “Hey, hey, you okay?” Stiles speaks with a surprisingly soft voice, a harsh comparison to his usual loud rambling.

Derek nods, “Fine, just needed a minute.” He says, more to assure Stiles than himself. Stiles squeezes his hand and leaves the kitchen. Derek assumes he is going to find Isaac, but Stiles returns with the bag of Doritos.

“I'll ask the others to leave? I'll say you're sick.” Stiles offers. Derek shakes his head lamely, not wanting to be rude, but Stiles argues until Derek rolls his eyes and agrees. He's fine, he knows he's fine, but somehow the idea of a quiet apartment seems good.

Erica comes rushing in after that, apologising, hair flying everywhere as she wraps her arms around Derek, gentle enough that it doesn't startle him but he appreciates the touch. He tells her it wasn't her fault, it was him overreacting. 

Boyd gives him a shoulder hug, which is vastly different from Isaac, who all but hurls himself into Derek, rubbing his curly hair along Derek’s cheek. 

Derek already knows how difficult Isaac’s childhood was, and they had always acted like brothers. Isaac had spent most of his teenage years alternating between Derek’s house and the library, and when his father died in a car crash when he was eighteen, he lived with Derek and his family until he went to university. Derek loves the curly haired boy and would do absolutely anything for him.

The three of them wave goodbye and depart the apartment, leaving Stiles, Derek and the bag of Doritos on the countertop. “Are you okay?” Stiles asks quietly, his voice still unexpectedly soft.

Derek nods, murmuring a “Thanks.” He looks at the clock, noticing how late it is, and says goodnight to Stiles.

Stiles hands him the chips, and, to Derek’s surprise, leans in and hugs him gently. “Night.” He replies, before padding off to his bedroom.

Derek walks to his. He thinks about Stiles as he brushes his teeth, as he puts his pyjamas on, as he climbs into bed and as he turns the light off.

He thinks of how empathetic Stiles is as he drifts off.

\--

He is woken by screaming. Loud, terrified screaming. He startles awake, blinking his eyes as he adjusts to the darkness. He stumbles blindly into the hallway and then down into Stiles’s room to wake Stiles up, until he realises the screaming is coming from the boy in question.

Stiles is having a nightmare, something Derek is perfectly familiar with, though he is unsure of how to deal with it. He carefully manoeuvres himself towards Stiles and holds the boy until his screams die down into soft sobs. Stiles is shaking in his arms but otherwise seems to be okay.

“Shh, shh, it's okay..” Derek whispers to him softly, rubbing his hand up and down Stiles’s arm. Usually he wouldn't be this intimate with someone he barely knows, but Stiles has been his neighbour for about a year and although they had never really talked until the night of the fire, he cares about Stiles.

Stiles seems to have calmed down, his breathing slowly coming back to a normal rate. Derek gently removes himself from Stiles and rushes to the kitchen to get some water for the mole speckled male. Whilst he fills the cup, he can't help wondering why he never had heard Stiles before, how he'd never heard the boy’s nightmares before. The walls were thin in his apartment block, and Stiles had lived right across from him.

He grabs the glass and walks back into Stiles’s room. Stiles is sitting at his headboard, the covers pulled around him, shivering even though it's not cold inside the room. He gently places the water on Stiles’s bedside table and sits on the bed, a little away from Stiles to give him space.

“Are you okay? Do you need anything?” Derek prompts, giving Stiles what he hopes is a reassuring smile.

Stiles hesitates before shaking his head. Derek feels he wants something else but doesn't want to push, so he simply gives Stiles’s hand a gentle squeeze before heading back to his own room.

He listens to the sound of Stiles sipping the water, breathing heavily. He can hear Stiles pull his laptop out and then he hears somebody answering what he guesses is a Skype call. It's a feminine voice, and he doesn't know why this upsets him so much.

He rolls over and does his best to block out the noise. 

\-- 

The next morning, Derek wakes up feeling angry and he doesn't know why, until he remembers hearing Stiles talking to someone he's unfamiliar with. 

He shakes his head, knowing he has no right to be jealous over anyone Stiles wants to hangout with, whether they're his friend or Stiles is interested in them. He walks into the kitchen and sees Stiles is already up, enthusiastically eating some bananas and Nutella. 

Stiles mumbles a ‘good morning’ through his mouthful of food and smiles at Derek as best as he can before swallowing. “Thanks, for yesterday.” Stiles says earnestly, “I hope I didn't keep you up, I was on Skype with Lydia.” He explains, as if Derek didn't already know this.

Derek nods irritably, distracting himself by making a cup of coffee. “Your girlfriend?” He questions, although he doesn't want the answer.

Stiles snorts and shakes his head, “No, no. She's my best friend, and she's dating someone anyway. Nope, all yours.” He winks again, his infuriating, irritatingly attractive wink. Derek’s ears turn red but he furiously ignores it.

It's a Sunday afternoon, and so Derek figures that Stiles might be out for the day, perhaps with friends or family. Derek doesn't see why Stiles would want to spend him, as he didn't really have anything interesting for them to do.

“Any plans today?” Derek asks as he takes a sip of his coffee. It's far too hot but he deals, knowing he'll hate himself later when his tongue is burnt and he has to drink icy water to get rid of the stinging.

“Nope. You?”

“Oh, uh, no. I guess we could do something then?” He asks, wondering if Stiles is okay with him referring to them as ‘we’, as if they're a couple or something.

“Yeah! Hey, let me check the cinema times.” Stiles’s eyes light up as he rushes off to his room, returning with his laptop, which is covered in pictures from what Derek assumes are Stiles’s favourite comic books.

Derek comes to stand behind Stiles, peering over his shoulder as Stiles reads off the timings and what movies are showing. After a couple of minutes deliberating, they decide to see some new film from the Harry Potter series, which has an actor called Eddie something that Stiles apparently likes.

They agree to go after lunch, so Stiles decides he's going to Scott’s for a bit and then coming back for lunch. Derek waves to him as he leaves the apartment, and then shuts the door behind him. 

Derek walks around the house, wondering what to do. It's a surreal experience, he's so used to living alone but now that the apartment is sans Stiles, it seems to big and too empty. 

He grabs his phone on autopilot and dials Cora’s number, wanting to see family but knowing that Laura will be with her own family, and she lives too far away to come only for a couple of hours.

Derek just texts her an ‘SOS’, which is the universal Hale family text for ‘come help me right now.’ She responds with a couple of food emojis and says she'll be expecting something to eat.

Derek sighs with relief, not wanting to spend his afternoon alone. Though he's used to plenty of alone time, somehow he can't look forward to it this time, not wanting to be on his own.

He sinks into the sofa, laying back and closing his eyes, rubbing his temples to try to ease the headache he can feel forming. 

His phone vibrates on the countertop and Derek groans but stands up to get it anyway. It's from Stiles, reading, ‘Heyyy Scotty wants to see the new movie too!! I booked him a ticket, that's cool right ? :)’ 

Derek, for some stupid reason, feels upset. He doesn't know why he allowed to himself to think that it would be just him and and Stiles but he did, and now that Stiles wants to invite someone else, he feels awful. He texts back, ‘You go with Scott, feeling sick anyway. Have fun.’ and then shuts his phone off, not wanting to think about it anymore.

Cora barrels into his apartment about twenty minutes later, carrying a couple of bottles of beer and a bag of McDonalds (she knows he hates McDonalds but always gets it anyway.) She stops when she sees him sprawled pathetically on the sofa and sighs, putting all her stuff down and jumping on top of him, enclosing him in a tight hug.

“What's wrong, big brother?” She asks softly, running her hands through his hair before jumping up to open the bag of takeaway. She sits on the floor, legs crossed as she eats and the position reminds him so much of Stiles that his heart aches.

“Just didn't want to be alone.” He mutters, trying to avoid looking at her, focusing his eyes on the floor as if it were some kind of artwork.

“What about your new roomie? Where's he?”

“With his friend. Scott.” Derek doesn't mean Scott’s name to come out so venomously but it does. He likes Scott a lot but feels jealous that Stiles didn't choose to spend the afternoon with just him.

“C’mon, let’s watch Mean Girls.”

“I hate Mean Girls.”

“You love Mean Girls more than you love oxygen.”

\---

After Cora leaves, he busies himself by tidying the house, sweeping up and putting everything away, however he takes special care to completely avoid Stiles’s room, not wanting to be anywhere near it, or Stiles, for that matter.

Derek finishes in the kitchen, grabbing himself a beer when he hears the sound of a key being slotted in and Stiles rushes into the house, looking angry, angrier than anyone should look at five o’clock on a Sunday afternoon.

“What the hell, Derek? I was worried about you! You didn't answer any of my calls or texts after that stupidly cryptic text you sent!”

“Why were you worried?” Derek shoots back, turning his back to Stiles, “I thought you were with Scott.”

Stiles lets out a laugh, but it's not a happy one, more of a sarcastic, bark of a laugh, “What are you, five? I'm allowed more than one friend, for crying out loud!” He yells at Derek, walking over to him.

Derek swings around to face Stiles, beer long forgotten, “We’re not friends! You're just living here until your apartment gets fixed.” 

Stiles’s face is something he never wants to see again in his lifetime. His entire face crumples and he looks so hurt that Derek wants to do nothing but to hug Stiles and make him feel safe. “Fine.” Stiles mutters angrily, “Fine. Whatever.” He turns on his heel and stalks out of the kitchen, and down into his room. His slams the door to his room shut loudly, and if Derek weren't so upset, he would've made a comment about ‘who's the five year old now.’

He crumples down to the floor, covering his eyes with his hands and lets out a long sigh, wanting to cry but not wanting Stiles to hear and feel bad, when it's his fault they had a fight anyway.

Derek knows he was expecting too much, anyway. He works better alone.

\---

He wakes up aching, laying on the kitchen floor. He wonders briefly why he is laying on the cold, hard floor instead of in his bed before he remembers the argument between him and Stiles.

Derek grimaces, pushing himself up from the ground and walking through the open plan apartment towards Stiles’s room. He knocks twice, and after no answer, walks in. He sees a note laying on the bed and his heart plummets ; surely it's a hastily scrawled letter from Stiles explaining that he no longer wants to be friends (though Derek’s pretty sure he's already thrown that option out the window)

Derek picks the paper up, and reads, ‘Hey. Am at work already, and if you're reading this it's probably about nine. We need to talk so please be at the apartment when I get home. - S’. Derek sighs, putting the note back down on the bed. He goes in search of his phone, eventually finding it down the back of the sofa. It begins beeping like crazy after being switched on, as all the messages and calls he missed from Stiles come through.

He goes onto their chat log - which has significantly grown - and sends a text to Stiles saying that he'll be home all day, but he can come over to see Stiles at lunch. He doesn't know much about Stiles’s teaching job, but figures he must get a break for lunch like the kids. 

He receives a text back about a half hour later, which just reads, ‘Sure. Sign in at the office and bring me lunch? Will be in 6B.’ Derek studies the text for a while, wondering how on Earth he's supposed to know where ‘Classroom 6B’ is, but he figures he’ll deal.

He feels completely alone without Stiles’s constant rambling around the house, and decides to distract himself with work until it's time to go up to the school. He's determined not to be reliant on Stiles, and after all, he's done fine on his own until Stiles moved in.

He makes Stiles a lunch and shoves it into a plastic container from when Laura brought her kids over to visit. He loves Laura’s kids, Robbie and Angie, both bright and smiling and funny, just like his sister is, although they both have a certain mischievous streak to them. He thinks for a fleeting moment that they'd love Stiles, but then continues making the lunch.

He heads into his office, which overlooks the streets through a large window, and sits down to begin getting some work done. He carries on his design for a redevelopment of some run down houses, until his phone beeps with his alarm that he set (and it definitely wasn't to remind him to see Stiles, it was just to remind him to eat lunch.)

Driving to the school is easy enough, but it's when he arrives that's difficult. He sits in his car, panicking, trying to calm himself down enough to go inside, and then when he gets inside, he can't find the main office. He's thankful all the kids seem to be outside, because adding small people running around would not be good.

He finally locates the office and lets his body relax as he marches up to the front desk. An old lady is seated behind, with snowy hair pulled back into a bun and glasses perched on her nose. She looks like the perfect example of a storybook grandma. 

“Uh, hi..” he starts, smiling at her as best he can, “I'm here to see Stiles Stilinski? I brought him lunch.” He holds up the container as proof.

The lady - Doris, as her name plate reads - smiles at him brightly, “That's lovely, dear! I wasn't aware Stiles had a boyfriend.” 

Derek splutters, turning completely red in the face. He stammers out an objection, mumbling that Stiles is his roommate, but she just hushes him and hands him a map of the school, pointing him in the direction of the classroom. He walks as slowly as he can, studying the map intently until he arrives outside a door marked “6B. Stilinski.” and he takes a deep breath before opening the door.

Immediately, his eyes are assaulted by colours. The room is extremely bright and glitter is scattered in every possible area of the room. There is a small gardening area that opens out into a real garden plot, and directly opposite is a little reading nook that Derek has to admit is cute. He doesn't realise he's staring gormlessly until somebody coughs and he whirls around.

Stiles is standing opposite him. His hair is messy, also covered in purple glitter, and he's wearing a purple flannel, whether or not he meant to match, Derek doesn't know. Stiles looks anxious as well, shifting from foot to foot as he usually does when he's nervous.

Derek opens his mouth to speak when Stiles strides across the room and wraps him in a hug. Derek is instantly startled, not used to affection from his friends, with the exception of Isaac, but he wraps his hands around Stiles anyway. Stiles sniffles slightly and Derek has a suspicion he might've been crying but decides not to push it.

“I brought you lunch.” Derek says after they've separated, handing Stiles the lunch. Stiles’s eyes light up, and Derek laughs at the boy’s love of food. He has no idea how Stiles is in such great shape when he seems to eat food a lot of the time, though, knowing Stiles, he's one of those irritating people who just doesn't gain weight.

“Do you want the grand tour?” Stiles offers, after placing his lunch down on his desk. Derek nods and Stiles begins showing him around the classroom, making plenty of jokes that have Derek laughing, something he doesn't often do. Stiles shows him work from all of kids, saying that one of his favourite kids is a boy called Jake, who apparently loves glitter as much as Stiles, from what Derek sees from the boy’s dinosaur drawing.

Derek loses track of time, and suddenly a bunch of kids come hurtling into the room, throwing gloves and coats onto the floor as they rush in. It appears they are protective of Stiles, as they all stop instantly and stare at Derek when they see him. 

“Are you Stiles’s boyfriend?” One boy asks and Christ, does every person at Stiles’s school think they're dating?

Derek shakes his head awkwardly, suddenly not wanting to talk to the kids for fear of saying something wrong. He makes a movement towards the door, muttering something about seeing Stiles at home when some kid grabs onto his leg, to his absolute horror, begging him to stay, with the persuasive words of ‘big growly man, please stay!’

He looks over at Stiles for help but Stiles is helpfully avoiding his eyes, helping the kids all hang their coats up. “You can stay if you're not busy.” Stiles says, but his eyes are glinting like he's done something bad and Derek knows why when all the children start cheering happily.

Reluctantly, he agrees, and gets roped into helping the kids finish their illustrations of their families. The boy who grabbed onto his leg has now become attached, forcing Derek to squeeze into one of the far too small chairs and helping him to colour in his picture.

“So, so,” the boy talks, pointing excitedly, “I’m Jake Mahealani, and those are my daddies.” He points to a picture of a small blob beside two larger blobs, labelled ‘me’ ‘daddy’ and ‘papa’. Derek nods, telling him it's a very good drawing and helping him to colour it in. 

Stiles walks over and leans down, whispering, “You've stolen my favourite from me!” though his face is wide with a smile and he seems oddly proud that Derek is getting along with the children so well. Derek grins back toothily as he carries on colouring in the picture.

The clock ticks three, which is apparently time for pickup, as the kids start to put their pictures into backpacks and fight for coats and gloves from the pile. Derek stands up, brushing glitter from his jeans - how did so much get everywhere? - and then looks over to where Jake is waving, standing beside two men whom Derek assumes are his parents.

“These are my daddies!” Jake yells excitedly, jumping up and down whilst grabbing his dad’s hand. The man laughs and introduces himself as Ethan, whilst the other man who is overwhelmed with coats and gloves and bags, is Danny.

Stiles materialises out of nowhere and does a strange handshake with Danny, smiling as he does so, whilst Ethan and Derek talk to Jake about his picture. Jake shows them his picture for so long that they end up being the only family left in the room, the others having left in a flurry of limbs and sticky, glittery hands.

Derek says goodbye and then stands back whilst Stiles does his very long, “oh my god I'm never going to see you again” goodbye routine that he does with most people he knows, but each time it's funnier for Derek to watch.

Once the classroom is empty, Stiles turns to Derek and smiles, a smile that is so gentle that Derek feels almost like he shouldn't be allowed to look. Derek shoots a shy smile back, not too big for fear of showing off his bunny teeth. 

Walking back to the car pack, Stiles chats incessantly about his day and Derek has the oddest temptation to reach out and grab his hand, the urge so strong that he has to stuff his hand into his pocket. He suddenly realises that since he drove to the school, they'll have to go home in separate cars, which he knows will make him feel weird.

Stiles obviously has already thought of this, as he stops when they reach Derek’s car, “If you could possibly give me a lift tomorrow morning, I'll just leave my car here?” He suggests and Derek nods without hesitation. It feels so domestic, like they're already a married couple and it makes Derek feel slightly strange, but happy. Definitely happy. 

He nods and walks round to the driver’s side (nobody drives his car) and climbs inside. He waits for Stiles to get in before starting it up, and when Stiles’s hand is rested on his thigh, Derek wants to reach over and grab it.

They arrive at the apartment fifteen minutes later, after a car drive filled with Stiles ranting about some irritating mother than he hates, and Derek happily just sat back and listened, because Stiles’s storytelling, though long winded, is usually extremely funny.

Stiles jumps out of the car first, rushing towards the apartment like he’s on fire. Derek startles when he does so, yelling at him to ask if he's okay, to which Stiles just answers “Nutella!” and apparently that explains everything perfectly. Derek shrugs, locking the car before shaking his head and following Stiles inside at a normal pace.

When he walks into the living room, Stiles is standing facing him, with his hands firmly behind his back. “Before you object, you have to take this. It's a gift, since you let me move in with you.” Stiles says and hands him a wrapped gift.

Derek wants to object but he knows Stiles won’t allow it, so he just unwraps it, and raises his eyebrows at the gift. It is a framed picture of some words, but he doesn't understand the language. Stiles, sensing his confusion, explains,” It’s Greek. It means ‘you are kind’. I, uh, hope it's not overstepping or anything.” He says anxiously.

Derek shakes his head, “It's amazing. Thank you, Stiles.” He's never received any gift so thoughtful, and if he's honest with himself, he never receives many gifts to begin with. Even when he was younger, he only really had a couple of friends, he made most of them in university after Laura began pushing him to do more mingling.

Stiles looks awkward then, avoiding Derek’s eyes as he mutters something about making a lesson plan. Derek nods, but then just as Stiles is disappearing into his bedroom, Derek calls, “Work out here?” His voice is soft, barely loud enough to hear but Stiles smiles and nods.

Derek sets to work making the dinner, settling for pasta. He begins cooking it, listening to the sound of Stiles clicking away at his computer, the sound of him huffing in irritation. 

As Derek works, he sorts through everything he's been feeling recently - Stiles, guilt, anger about Kate, and everything in between. He likes Stiles, that's for sure, but he doesn't know if it's platonic or more than that, or if Stiles would even want it to be more than platonic.

Stiles stops typing on his laptop and calls Derek’s name, and Derek turns around, eyebrows raised in a way that says ‘I'm trying to cook pasta’. Stiles laughs softly and then says, “Derek, I, um, I know you're not much of a people person but I was wondering if you wanted to.. to meet my friends? I've met yours already, and I think you'd really like them, there's Allison, Kira, Scott, you know him already, oh and Liam, and Mason, and Corey, oh and Hayden, and there's Aiden and Ethan, and also Jackson, he's a prick, and Lydia, and Danny, and they're all really nice,” Stiles carries on rambling but Derek’s already nodding.

He just can't believe that Stiles wants him to meet his friends. He knows how Stiles feels about his friends and family, and Stiles doesn't know about Kate, but Derek still feels like he might hurt Stiles’s friends somehow. He never wants Stiles to hate him but he wants to take the chance of knowing people that Stiles loves.

“Stiles, yes, I'd like that.” He says eventually, ceasing Stiles’s rambling. The boy nods triumphantly and grins, returning to his laptop. Derek carries on making the pasta.

They eat together at the table, and even though the pasta’s slightly squishy, and Stiles gets completely covered in tomato sauce and Derek can't stop the butterflies in his stomach, it's perfect. 

\---

So the next day, after school, Derek finds himself in the jeep. To say he was nervous would be a severe understatement. Possibly the biggest understatement in the history of ever. He was a clutching a box of brownies that he and Stiles had made, even though Stiles had insisted he didn't need to try and impress anyone.

They were all meeting Scott’s house, as Stiles had told him about fifty times, and he'd been assured that it was a strictly casual hanging out, but he still wasn't sure. He still feels slightly on edge, but tries to dismiss the uncomfortable feeling.

The car pulls into a driveway and Derek stiffens, looking at Stiles in panic, but the boy shakes his head and ruffles Derek’s hair, before climbing out of the car. Derek glowers, fixing his hair, but also happy for the welcome distraction.

He trails behind Stiles and watches as the front door is opened and a young, blonde haired boy grins at Stiles. “Hey, Liam!” Stiles pats the boy on the back and they walk inside, Derek stiffly following behind.

He's introduced to everyone he doesn't know ; there's Mason, a kind, smiling boy that kind of reminds Derek of a kitten, and his boyfriend, Corey, who is always close to Mason and rambles a lot, similarly to Stiles. Liam seems to be a mini-Scott, leading his own group, and his girlfriend, Hayden, seems just as nice.

He knows Scott and Kira, and he hasn't ever met their kid. She's just a baby, seated in a crib at the far side of the room, with a blanket that Derek sees has the name ‘Mellie’ scrawled onto it. 

He vaguely recognises Danny and Ethan, sans Jake, who he's told is at a friend’s house. Aiden introduces himself, he's Ethan’s twin and though slightly obnoxious, he seems to be very nice. Derek is relieved (he doesn't know why) to find out that Aiden and Lydia, a confident redhead, are in a long term relationship, and seem to be very much in love.

Stiles’s description of Jackson wasn't incorrect - he is a prick, and Lydia’s ex, and Derek isn't quite sure why he hangs around with them but they all seem to like him in a ‘stop being an idiot’ way.

Lastly, is Allison. Derek stiffens considerably when he sees her and Stiles notices, ushering the others into the living room to “get mario set up”, which Derek is grateful for.

Allison speaks first, looking guilty, and honestly, sad. “I'm sorry,” she starts, sounding incredibly pained, “my aunt… I can't ever apologise enough for how she treated you. She's not part of the family anymore. She's.. I'm sorry, Derek. I know you can't ever forgive her, of course you can't, but maybe we could tolerate each other? I know Stiles means a lot to you, and he means a lot to me, too.” 

Derek nods, clenching his jaw but reaching his hand out to shake Allison’s. Obviously she hadn't expected that much, but grins at him and shakes his hand, before disappearing into the living room, yelling about how she's playing Princess Peach with no arguments. 

Stiles inches his way into the room, like he's afraid he'll get his head bitten off. He hands Derek a brownie and smiles, “I won't ask, about why.. why you don't like Allison, I guess you know her from somewhere but, I hope you're okay.” Stiles says and the way he looks at Derek makes his heart flutter viciously. 

Derek lets his mouth form into a smile, assuring Stiles he's okay before following the boy into the living area. He sits next between Stiles and Scott, the two people he feels the most comfortable around, and just watches the other play the game. Every so often, Stiles grabs his hand and squeezes, checking he's okay, but otherwise he seems engrossed in the game.

They leave first, after Derek tells Stiles he wants to go home, though at the time he doesn't realise he referred to it as ‘home’. They head out, and Derek (bravely) gives Scott a hug, and waves to everyone else.

As soon as they get into the jeep, Stiles turns to him, “Are you okay? That wasn't too stressful?” He asks, studying Derek’s face like he thinks Derek is going to lie to protect him. 

Derek’s mouth is set in a harsh line but he nods, “Yeah, it's.. it was good. I like your friends.” 

Stiles smiles softly, starting the car and suddenly they're driving away from Scott’s and Derek feels as though it didn't go too horrendously. He hopes that maybe once Stiles moves out, they'll still be friends. Even though he's not completely comfortable with Allison, he likes Scott and some of Stiles’s other friends, and most of all, he likes Stiles.

It's around eight when the apartment block comes into view, and they head inside together. Stiles insists on paying for the dinner, which he decides is going to be Thai takeaway, and Derek settles down on the couch when his laptop starts ringing. He recognises it as the notification that somebody is calling him on Skype, so he begrudgingly opens his laptop and answers.

Immediately, Laura’s face pops into view on the screen, as well as Malia’s in a separate box, and at the bottom is Cora. The four of them have a group chat which, thanks to Cora, is called “The Hale Family CHIZAT”. Derek’s tried to change it multiple times but he can't figure out how and the other two girls won't tell him how. He makes a mental note to ask Stiles for help.

“Hello little brother!” Laura chimes, grinning from her little screen. Derek can hear the sound of Angie bouncing around in the background and he smiles fondly. 

“Okay, so explain to me, since you conveniently forgot to text me, who was that boy I saw Saturday? It's Tuesday now, Der, I expect better.” Malia says accusingly but her voice doesn't have any malice in it.

At that exact moment, Stiles appears from the kitchen, holding a jar of Nutella. Derek is seriously starting to worry about how much Nutella he consumes, but Stiles doesn't seem to be very concerned as he jumps over the back of the sofa to peer at the screen.

“Hi!” Stiles waves excitedly, with the spoon dangling out of his mouth. Derek feels like face palming but he can't, not when it's Stiles, so he just watches as Stiles starts chatting with his sisters. Although Malia is his cousin, she may as well be his sister, and he usually accidentally calls her his sibling. They don't really look much alike but they act so much like siblings that it doesn't matter.

To Derek’s dismay, Laura and Stiles begin a conversation about Derek’s lack of social skills. Derek's about to end the Skype call from sheer embarrassment when Angie, Laura’s five year old, comes bumbling into view. She looks exactly the same as Derek remembers - bright green eyes, Raven black hair pulled into two bunches, and chubby cheeks. She's wearing an Elsa outfit, which has splodges of jam all over it.

“Uncle Derek!’ She screeches, jumping onto Laura’s lap and making grabby hands at the computer. She starts talking excitedly about her new best friend at playgroup when she stops upon seeing Stiles. “Who's that?” She asks, her eyes widening considerably.

“This is Stiles, he's my, uh, he's my roommate.” Derek wishes for a split second he could introduce Stiles as something else but they've only lived together a couple of days and he's sure Stiles doesn't feel the same.

“Hi Stiles!” and although she doesn't pronounce it right, Stiles grins at her and waves. The doorbell rings - he can't believe the food’s been delivered that quickly - and so he stands up to go answer it, leaving Stiles chatting away. He pays for the food, even though Stiles had wanted to, and then carries the bags inside.

Stiles is just waving goodbye to the computer as he returns. They say their goodbyes, Malia giving him a meaningful look when she asks him to text her later, and then the laptop is shut and it's just them, and two bags of Thai food.

Stiles rolls his eyes angrily, “You payed for it, didn't you?” like Derek’s committed some great crime. He nods sheepishly, though doesn't feel guilty, because friends pay for friends all the time. At least, that's what he tells himself as they go to sit down. 

“Wait!” Stiles stops so abruptly that Derek almost drops the food, “Let’s go eat in my room, I just downloaded a movie on my laptop!” and Derek can't deny Stiles (it's starting to become a real problem) so they traipse into his room and sit down on Stiles’s bed.

Derek doesn't usually come in Stiles’s room, since he's never had a reason to go inside, and now that he's sitting on Stiles’s bed, he can't help looking around. The room reflects Stiles generally and he's fascinated at how much Star Wars is plastered all over the walls.

Stiles's duvet is simple but his bed is covered in books and he has what looks like some kind of murder board style thing close to his bed. Stiles shoves the books to the floor and jumps onto the bed. Derek hands him his dinner and they both curl up to watch Stiles's laptop. Derek reminds himself that they're only close because they both want to watch the movie and that it's not a date in the slightest.

However, when their hands brush together as they both reach for the sauce, Derek feels his heart jolt slightly. He knows it's ridiculous, that he has these feelings for someone he barely knows, but then again, he feels like he's known Stiles for months. It's a weird feeling, Derek decides, being so attached to someone he doesn't know that well.

He can't focus on the movie after that, instead sneaking glances at Stiles when he can. He watches Stiles’s lips as he eats, his moles, his slight cheekbones, his jawline and his hands as he wipes away stray sauce that's dripping his chin. The action of Stiles eating usually wouldn't be very attractive, but to Derek, it is.

The movie finishes late and Derek’s tired, so tired that he doesn't even want to move. He looks over at Stiles who’s already laying down with his eyes closed under the covers and Derek knows he'll have to go back to his own room. He stands up, tucking the covers in, when he hears Stiles mumble “Stay”. 

Derek turns around, looking at Stiles like someone else had been talking. Stiles was still burrowed underneath the duvet, his head shoved onto the pillow as he drools slightly onto it. “W-what?” Derek stammers, his voice shaking slightly.

“Stay. Please.” Stiles mumbles again, his voice smothered by the pillows. Derek freezes, watching Stiles cautiously. Moving towards the bundle of blankets that is Stiles, he takes a deep breath before clambering into the bed.

Gently, he lies alongside Stiles, keeping his distance, until Stiles wriggles around and wraps his arms around Derek as though Derek is his new teddy bear.

Derek slowly closes his eyes, letting out a gentle breath before relaxing into the hug.

\--- 

Derek wakes up startled, at the realisation that he's not in his own bed. This bed is slightly softer and has more pillows and blankets and most importantly, another person.

Stiles still appears dead to the world, his mouth drooling into the pillow in a way that Derek finds scarily attractive.

Stiles’s arms are still clamped firmly around his waist, and Derek tries to move, because, work, but Stiles seems to be determined to stay asleep.

“Stiles.” Derek mutters, giving Stiles a gentle shake, “You gotta get up, you've got work.” 

He continues poking Stiles until the boy angrily opens his eyes accusingly - and suddenly Derek’s the bad guy because he doesn't want Stiles to be late.

It's now that he discovers that apparently, Stiles is not a morning person. He grumbles throughout his entire morning routine, even when brushing his teeth, and as he grabs a cereal bar whilst tying his shoes.

“Don't you ever get tired of complaining?” Derek asks they both clamber into his car, meanwhile Stiles does his hair in the mirror.

Stiles shakes his head, grinning, which is not the best sight, as Derek can see bits of cereal bar in his teeth, but Derek finds it somewhat attractive and he needs to call Malia.

Stiles’s hand shoots out to reach for the radio and then freezes, as if remembering it's not his car. Derek gestures for him to continue, because, well, he wants Stiles to feel comfortable.

Stiles flicks through the channels for a bit until he finds ‘Radio Disney’ which Derek already knows is not going to be fun for him.

He proves himself correct when the first song to play is one from High School Musical, and unsurprisingly, because this is Stiles, the brunet is word perfect. 

They pull into the parking lot just as Stiles completes the dramatic finish and it has been a painful ride for Derek.

“Walk me in?” Stiles asks hopefully as if he would (or could) say no.

They walk - run - into the school, Stiles clutching a bunch of papers. Derek can see children playing, doing monkey bars and a bunch of other things that he remembers doing vaguely as a child, though he was always very mature for his age.

Stiles signs in at the office and the receptionist practically has a heart attack upon seeing Derek again, proclaiming about how ‘adorable’ they are, whilst Derek just avoids eye contact. They head downstairs towards Stiles's classroom and walk inside, the rainbow of glitter still as headache inducing as it was the first time.

“So, I'd love for you to say, but uh, technically you're not really allowed unless you've got permission from the headmistress.. so I'll see you at home?” Stiles asks, looking up through his eyelashes.

Derek nods, “At home.” He says, and offers Stiles a small, private smile. He turns and leaves, before he can do something stupid, like kiss Stiles.

\---

Derek’s finishing up a large pile of planning sheets when he hears the door click open, which is presumably Stiles arriving home. He'd been receiving texts from Stiles all day, ‘These kids are giving me the mother of all headaches’ but his phone had stopped beeping at around three, and he knew it was when Stiles ended school, however he hadn't received anymore texts and now it was five, and okay, he'd been worried.

“Stiles?” He calls out, walking out of his office and into the open plan living room when he sees Stiles. He drops the paper’s he'd been holding in shock and stares at Stiles in disbelief.

The boy is covered in bruises, bruises that are definitely new, and he’s shaking, his arms barely able to hold up his stuff from work. Derek rushes over to him, frantically asking him questions, “Who the hell did this? Who was it?” He demands, eyes running over Stiles as if he can somehow erase the damage.

“Calm down,” Stiles says weakly, sounding the exact opposite of calm, “Just some drunk ex, nothing major.” Stiles walks to the kitchen as if that's the end of the conversation.

“What?” Derek’s seething now, as well as panicked, “Stiles, you gotta report that girl to the police! She can't get away with it!” 

“Guy.” Stiles tells him shortly, opening the cupboard to grab his beloved Nutella, and then turning back to face Derek, looking pained, “and I've already told my dad, and he said he'd look into it, but I'm.. I don't want to talk about it, okay?” He says quietly, and Derek can see the pain in his eyes.

“Do you.. want to watch a movie?” Derek suggests, keeping his voice as soft as he can whilst also being so incredibly angry.

“Dammit, Derek! I just, I just can't handle all this, okay? I don't know what the hell I’m doing with my life, all the kids at school hate me, I’ll never be as successful as anyone else and I'm so weak that I let my ex beat me up!” Stiles rambles and then collapses to the floor, shaking. 

Derek spurs into action, rushing over the boy, “Hey, hey, Stiles, it's going to be okay, okay? Can you hear me breathing? Copy my breathing, okay?” He stays back, careful not to touch Stiles, but just gently helping him adjust his breathing. When Stiles’s breathing has returned to normal, Derek gently starts to help.

Derek feels as though he's in a dream as he moves over to Stiles and takes the jar away, placing it on the counter. He helps Stiles stand up, muttering about how kind and generous and intelligent he is, and then moves him into the living room and onto the black sofa, gently sitting him down.

He grabs some of his papers from the floor and orders them, before placing them onto the countertop that separates the kitchen from the living area, and then goes to get a blanket from the large brown chest in the corner of the room that Erica had deemed necessary for his house.

He grabs the fluffiest, warmest blanket he can find and drapes it over Stiles, then grabs a hot water bottle and fills it up. Derek kneels down in front of Stiles with a first aid kit and starts treating all his wounds, still whispering all of the good aspects of Stiles and how even though he may think he has flaws, they are one of the best parts of him.

He hopes he's doing an okay job, since he's never been great at talking to people, or people in general, but Stiles seems to be calming down and looking at him through tearful eyes. He gently sits on the sofa, keeping a distance away from Stiles to make him comfortable, but Stiles instantly moves towards him and wraps his arms around Derek’s middle, leaning his head on Derek’s chest.

“Sorry, ‘m sorry.” He mumbles into the fabric of his shirt, and Derek pats his head, assuring Stiles he has nothing to be sorry for.

They lay there, for what feels like hours, until Stiles starts talking. “My mom died when I was young, and I've always lived with my dad or alone until now. After she died I used to.. I used to get these panic attacks and they were awful, they could last for hours and nobody was great at calming me down, they all just stood asking me a ton of questions which didn't exactly help.”

Stiles pauses, taking a gulping breath of air and continues, as Derek nervously starts rubbing Stiles’s arm, “Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks I guess. For helping. You were.. you are, brilliant. Sorry for crying and stuff.” 

“Stiles, don't apologise.” Derek says softly, “for what it's worth, I sort of can't believe how comfortable I am with you after only a couple of days. It's weird, I guess.” Derek admits, as Stiles takes his hand. Derek startles, but doesn't pull away, something urging him to keep their hands locked.

Stiles nods in agreement, “Yeah, I know what you mean. I get comfortable around people pretty quickly but I don't trust them for a while.. for you, it's different.” Stiles shrugs, like it’s making his head hurt to think about it.

“Do you wanna watch something? What do you like?” Derek asks, reaching for the remote.

“Star Wars?” Stiles suggest hopefully, his eyes lighting up in a way that makes Derek’s heart hurt. He nods and busies himself with finding the movie, to distract himself from the pounding of his heart.

Derek leans back onto the sofa and feels Stiles’s arms around his waist as the boy attaches himself like a koala. It's a strange but nice feeling, to always have someone who he can go to, that he feels like he can trust. 

Stiles starts to quote the movie, getting overly excited and bouncing around, his mood significantly lifting. His right hand is still firmly clasped in Derek's but the other hand is dancing around excitedly to match his mood.

Derek watches all of this, not paying any attention to the film, although he does enjoy Star Wars, but his eyes are drawn to Stiles like he’s a magnet. He watches as Stiles grins at the best bits and the way he gets teary eyed at all the emotional bits and Derek kind of feels like he's falling in love.

This thought scares him. Terrifies him, in fact. He's lived across from Stiles for a year or so but never really known him, and now that he does, he feels like his brain’s been all shaken up into a jumble of thoughts.

It feels like when he first met Kate, except a thousand times better. This time he doesn't feel like he's trying to impress anyone and he doesn't feel like he's putting on an act ; because Stiles likes him for him, and it's a surreal experience for him, that somebody would like Derek Hale for Derek Hale, with all his baggage.

Apparently, Stiles is some kind of psychic, because the sound of Darth Vader suddenly pauses and Stiles is looking at Derek with his eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

“You okay?” He says, and suddenly the room sounds very quiet and feels very big and Derek feels like it's only him and Stiles in the world. He could kiss Stiles, right now, and be done with it. The worst thing that could happen is that Stiles, being kind-hearted, lovely, Stiles, would politely decline.

Derek doesn't think he can deal with Stiles “politely declining’ him. So he goes for the easy option. He always goes for the easy option.

“Yeah, just tired, I’ll see you in the morning, okay? If you need anything, anything, come get me.” He stresses, before patting a Stiles’s shoulder affectionately and hurrying away to his room.

He takes deep breaths as he sits with his back to the door, trying to calm himself down. 

He's never felt this way before, and it absolutely terrifies him.

\--- 

The next two days repeat the same way - he drives Stiles to work (and neither of them bring up the fact that the jeep is back at the apartment block, so Stiles could easily drive himself) and then after he's dropped Stiles off, he goes on an eternal struggle about liking the boy so much.

Apparently the news had spread fast in his family, because he finds himself driving up to Laura’s house after dropping Stiles off, on a Friday morning, when he really should be working but he feels the need to speak with his older sister.

Derek instantly feels calmer as he pulls up her gravel driveway towards her large house. He's always loved his smallish apartment but he suddenly finds himself envying his sister’s big house and family and that she lives with somebody who she loves and who loves her back.

He rings the doorbell, expecting for Laura’s husband Tom to answer it, but instead he hears giggling and immediately he knows it's Angie and Robbie. By some miracle, they manage to open the door in a joint effort and he steps inside, instantly bombarded with cuddles.

“Hi Uncle Derek! Who was that smiley man we spoke to?” Angie clamors, trying - and succeeding - to clamber up his leg, whilst Robbie simply grins up at Derek toothily.

Laura appears, wearing a green jumper and a pair of shorts, which are covered in flour, as is the rest of her. She rushes forward to give Derek a hug and suddenly he's covered in children and his sister, and flour, which makes to be slightly unnerving. 

“Hey, Der, the kids are about to head to kindergarten with Tom but they wanted to wait till you arrived.” Laura explains, patting Angie’s bouncing curls. Tom appears in the hallway, dressed in his business suit and carrying a briefcase. He pats Derek on the back, smiling, then kisses Laura and whisks the kids outside, and then the house is quiet.

“Now tell me, what's all this about Stiles?” She asks, eyebrows raised as she gestures for him to follow her. The kitchen looks like an exploded bakery, flour covering all the surfaces and a variety of cookbooks scattered all of the worktop, as well as hundreds of mixing bowls.

“Firstly, are you trying to feed your children on cake for the next year?” He interrupts, waving his arms to indicate the general area.

“Well, I was making a cake for you actually, but we can't all be Gordon Ramsey so I made a couple of mistakes.”

“A couple?” He receives a whack with a spatula, which he figures he was asking for, as he follows her outside to a significantly less flour filled area.

“So.. this boy,” she prompts as she takes a seat on a garden chair, “Mal told me all about him, sounds like he's great. What's the problem?”

“That’s exactly it.. That’s the problem..” Derek trails off, looking at his hands, “I’ve only really known him for about a week and it feels like I’m falling in love with him or something.”

Laura nods slowly, considering this, “It’s probably because you’re spending so much time with him. I know what you’re like,“ She gives him a meaningful look, “I’m not saying start completely ignoring him, I’m saying give it time.” 

Derek nods. He’s somewhat thankful to have some kind of plan, instead of just stumbling around like he knows what he’s doing (he doesn’t.)

“Now, how about some America’s Next Top Model?” Laura teases. Derek rolls his eyes but follows her inside anyway. Laura’s a successful surgeon and so she has the time to stay at home, but why she chooses to watch America’s Next Top Model, Derek will never understand.

They cuddle up under a blanket, with cereal and hot chocolate, as they watch some girls competing to be number one. His phone pings halfway through and he reluctantly picks it up, figuring it could be someone from work, but he smiles when he sees Stiles’s name displayed on the screen.

He unlocks his phone to read the text and sees that Stiles has taken a selfie, his hair covered in glitter, with a fake pout on his face. There’s a text reading, ‘Wish u were here’ and Derek feels himself blushing at that. He spends about ten minutes trying to come up with an appropriate reply and eventually settles with, ‘My hair is glitter-free and shockingly I like it that way’.

The next text pings through instantly, ‘You’re no fun.’

I am extremely fun

That’s a blatant lie and u know it. Are u at home?

Derek can’t help a stupid smile creeping onto his face when Stiles calls it home, as though they've lived together for ages, and like they're going to keep living together forever. With Laura (sister). What do you want for dinner? 

Derek’s heart feels like it's beating out of his chest, like he's a teenager texting his crush again. He pretends he doesn't notice Laura giving him an accusing look as she shovels Coco Pops into her mouth as he waits for Stiles’s reply to come through.

Am actually babysitting Jake 2night. Danny says u can come over tho? Jake wants to see u.

You sure?

Yes!! Bring McDonalds

I'm not enabling you with fries

You'll be eating them too!

So you're trying to give us both food poisoning? How kind

Derek grins and pockets is phone, after Stiles responds with an emoji and Danny’s address. He figures since it’s only eleven thirty, he may as well stay with Laura until three (he furiously tells himself he isn't planning his day around Stiles, he's just making it easier for himself.)

He stays with Laura for lunch, in which they both attempt to make another cake, and surprisingly this time, it doesn't turn out rock hard or like a gooey liquid, and so they have a rather unhealthy lunch of more cereal followed by cake.

“What would Mom say if she knew you were feeding me cake and cereal?” Derek jokes as he bites into his piece of cake eagerly.

“She’d say that you need to gain some weight so that you can get a boyfriend,” Laura tells him, “you're too attractive so nobody will go for you.”

Derek laughs, and throws a piece of cake at Laura. It escalates, as food fights with Laura always do, and soon they have twice as much cake to be cleaning up, which leaves them scrubbing desperately with water and soap so that the floor resembles a swamp.

He can tell that most kid’s schools have finished when Angie and Robbie come bounding in triumphantly, filled with stories about how much the kids at school have irritated them (mostly Robbie). Angie shows him a picture she drew and Derek swears he doesn't almost cry when he sees it. It shows every single member of his family, but she's added someone else. There's an extra male, slightly shorter than Derek, who's wearing a red hoodie, and she's labelled it ‘Man to make Uncle Derek smile.’

He knows that kids are irrational and usually can't tell if people are in love or just friends but for some reason it makes him feel like it's some kind of sign, something telling him he needs to tell Stiles the truth.

“I gotta go, I'm babysitting with Stiles.” He tells Laura, firmly hugging her. She wiggles her eyebrows and kisses his cheek before bustling off with Tom to go and get the dinner ready. He says goodbye to Robbie, who then races off to go watch cartoons and he's left with Angie, who's watching him with bright, green eyes.

“Uncle Derek?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“What's your smiley man’s name?”

Derek, ironically, smiles, and then answers, “Stiles. He's called Stiles.”

\---

He has a little trouble getting to Danny and Ethan’s, he’ll admit. He first spends ages at McDonald’s trying to guess what Stiles would like, but he doesn't want to text in case Stiles suspects something - even though there's absolutely nothing to suspect. 

Then his GPS stops working, so he has to work from memory navigating his way around the town. It wouldn't be difficult if Danny and Ethan didn't live in a completely secluded mini village, which is very cute, but hard to find.

He eventually arrives at their address, and is met with a medium sized house, covering in vines and flowers, with a neat front garden which is littered with scooters and other various toys.

He rings the doorbell and hears a shriek of “Derek!” before the door swings open to reveal Stiles, with Jake clutching his hand firmly. 

“Hey, sorry, I got lost.” He apologises, handing Stiles the bag of food just before he almost gets knocked over by Jake’s sheer voice.

“Hi growly!” Jake says earnestly, and Derek shoots Stiles a glare, who holds his hands up like he doesn't know exactly where Jake got the idea for that nickname. Jake gives Derek a rushed tour of the house, handing him toy after toy until Derek feels like he’s drowning in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

He follows Jake back down the stairs and into the playroom, where there is already a large amount of toys scattered, apparently not enough, as the turtles are added immediately into the pile. Stiles returns, and he and Jake talk Derek through the game they're playing, which consists of some kind of robbery. Derek figures that because it's Stiles, of course he couldn't just stick a DVD in and be done with the whole business.

“You can be Leo!” Jake tells him as if it’s some kind of great honour and Derek nods solemnly, taking the chosen toy and hesitantly trying to copy Stiles. He remembers playing with Cora when she was younger, but she usually wanted to play barbies or tea parties, as opposed to armed robberies with action figures and playdough.

After a while, Stiles announces it’s time for dinner and movies. Derek is sure that Danny doesn't really want Stiles eating food in his extremely expensive looking living room, but he follows anyway, holding two plates filled with food. They settle down on the sofa, Stiles and Derek sitting on it whilst Jake sits in front of the sofa with a pillow.

They spend a while choosing a film, Stiles wanting to watch Star Wars whilst Jake is adamant on a movie about the teenage turtles, and so they eventually settle for Spider-Man. As soon as the film is switched on, Jake is immediately hypnotised by the action, and so Derek and Stiles began a hushed conversation.

“Thanks for bringing me dinner, you really didn't need to come at all,” Stiles tells him, but Derek shakes his head, mouth full of food.

Once he's swallowed, he says, “It’s fine. I like spending time with you.” He admits anxiously.

Stiles’s face lights up, a stray fry dropping out of his mouth as he smiles at Derek, “I like spending time with you too!” He says, and suddenly Derek’s wrapped in a rather suffocating hug.

And it all could've been passed off as platonic if Jake hadn't piped up with, “Are you in love like my daddies?” 

Derek looks at Jake in shock, unable to speak. He's been battling with the emotions of liking Stiles for the entirety of knowing him but the fact that some kid seemed to know all about it scares him.

Stiles grins, “No, we’re not. We just live together.” He says, ruffling the kid’s hair. Stiles glances at his phone and then tells the boy that it's time to go to sleep, picking Jake up, and squeezing Derek’s shoulder as he disappears upstairs to help the boy get ready for bed.

Derek just sits on the sofa, contemplating everything. Stiles doesn't come back downstairs until Danny and Ethan have returned from their date night, and Derek pretends he doesn't notice how ruffled the both of them are.

Stiles says goodbye, hugging the two of them, whilst Derek just nods to them, smiling. They clamber into Stiles’s jeep, and drive in silence for a while until Derek feels slightly awkward and so he pipes up with a question,

“Hey, do you want to go for a walk tomorrow? If you're not, uh, busy or anything.” He asks. He figures that he and Stiles can have some time together which isn't watching Star Wars or spent at Stiles’s school, with children.

“I gotta warn you, I have almost no stamina, but I'd like that.” Stiles agrees happily, focusing on the road but giving Derek a smile even so.

Derek reaches over and squeezes Stiles’s thigh. He doesn't notice Stiles tense up or anything and he ever so gently moves his hand back towards his side, but still resting on Stiles’s leg comfortably.

He feels oddly at home.

\---

Stiles doesn't wake up until around eleven, and Derek is amazed that the boy can sleep for that long. He's already been out for a jog, picked up some breakfast and showered and dressed, whilst Stiles is still stumbling around, bleary-eyed and carrying a coffee.

“Morning.” Stiles grunts as he sits down on the sofa, stretching his limbs lazily and taking slow sips of his drink. Derek rolls his eyes affectionately and hands Stiles a pancake which is oozing Nutella. Stiles’s eyes widen considerably as he sits upright to eat it.

Derek watches from the kitchen, fighting a smile. It's a strange feeling, that watching Stiles eating messily in a worn out hoodie and flannel bottoms would make him instantly smile. He carries on making his own pancake, pretending he isn't slowly starting to like Stiles.

“So,” Stiles’s voice is muffled through a mouth full of Nutella, “are we still on for that walk?” 

Derek nods and smiles, “Since you said you don't like them much, we can just go to the park instead.”

Stiles responds with a blinding grin as he shuffles off to change. Derek hastily distracts himself by doing some more planning work, reading through some of the points his colleagues had emailed him. Stiles reappears moments later, wearing a white top with a green flannel and a pair of jeans. He's also wearing sneakers that don't look their best but Derek doesn't care.

They walk to the park from the apartment, Stiles chatting animatedly about some new show he likes whilst Derek just listens and stretches out in the sunshine. 

The park comes into view, and with that, the ice cream van. Stiles immediately stops dead in his tracks and stares at the sign until Derek takes his hand and pulls him over to the van to order. 

Surprisingly, there's no queue, and they walk straight up to serving area. A man stands behind it, his greasy hair pulled back into a hairnet with a nametag that reads “Frank.”

Derek coughs in attempt to get the man’s attention but he either doesn't hear or ignores them, until Stiles says, “Excuse me?” loudly.

“What?” The man asks with a deadpan expression, his voice matching him perfectly, a tone of complete boredom and disregard.

“Two of those please.” Derek points to the ice creams that they want, and waits whilst Frank groans as if they've asked him to make them an appointment to see the Queen.

Stiles narrows his eyes angrily, his eyebrows knitting together in annoyance. Derek watches Stiles think for a couple of seconds and then his face clears, replaced with a mischievous smirk.

“Frankly I think you're being rude.” Stiles says triumphantly, his face glowing as if he is now the most clever person in existence.

Frank ignores him, making the ice creams and then shoving them towards Stiles. Derek hands him the money to cover both until Stiles protests and pays himself. They walk away laughing - mostly Stiles - as they head towards the lake in the middle of the park.

“Personally I think that joke was amazing.” Stiles laughs, as he leans over the railing to look at the swans. A gust of wind blows by and Stiles hands flail. Derek grabs Stiles instantly, pulling him away, since the railing doesn't look very strong but Stiles’s ice cream falls into the lake and is instantly swarmed by birds.

“Holy crap, I thought I was going to fall!” Stiles blurts, clutching at Derek like a lifeline, then pouts, “My ice cream.” He looks exactly like a child, his arms folded in annoyance.

Derek sighs but he isn't annoyed, “Have mine.” He insists, handing Stiles his own vanilla cone. Stiles looks at him in shock for a couple of seconds before grinning and taking his hand to squeeze it. Derek expects him to let go after a minute or so but he doesn't, their hands firmly intertwined.

Children rush by towards the play area, jumping onto the swings, whilst he and Stiles opt for the calmer option, a bench beside the water. 

“Do you want kids?” Stiles asks, watching as a boy zooms past on a scooter, laughing as he goes.

Derek nods, “Yeah.. yeah, I do. You?” He watches the ducks swimming on the water, and the sun beating on his back and his hand linked with Stiles and he feels somewhat dizzy.

“Yep! I'm gonna be the best dad, man, but I bet I'm gonna know how my dad felt when me and Scotty were always mucking around.”

“How long have you known him?”

“Years, we've been friends forever. His mom is kinda like a mom to me, and my dad is kinda like his.”

Derek nods, “Yeah, it’s the same with me and Isaac. His home life wasn't the best so he spent most of the time at ours, and he's basically my little brother.”

Stiles hums in agreement and they fall into a comfortable silence, until a small, brown lizard comes crawling by. Stiles almost falls over with excitement, pulling his phone out and taking a picture. Derek watches as he goes to his Snapchat and captions the picture “is this u” before sending it to a contact labelled ‘Jackass’. Derek guesses it's Jackson.

“What's with the lizard thing?” Derek asks curiously, which sets Stiles off into a fit of laughter, as he tries to explain the joke. Derek eventually comprehends that it's some kind of school joke, as Stiles insists Jackson has eyes like a lizard, and although Derek only met Jackson briefly, he doesn't see it.

Stiles stands up, breaking off the remaining pieces of ice cream cone and feeding them to the ducks. Derek can't help but take a picture, telling himself it's for the scenery even though a muddy lake with some trees isn't the kind of thing he usually wants a picture of. 

“Hey, do you want to go for dinner? My treat.” Stiles questions suddenly, fiddling about with his hands nervously.

Derek nods, “Yeah, sure.” and they head out of the park and into the town. Derek watches as Stiles weaves through the streets until the two of them arrive at a diner that appears to be 80’s themed, with booths and a bar with milkshakes.

Stiles walks inside and waves at the girl behind the counter, who offers a grin in return and a not-so-subtle pointed look at Derek. Stiles grabs his hand and leads him to one of the booths in the back, despite the fact that all the other ones are vacant. Stiles orders an Oreo milkshake and Derek the same, as well as two burgers with curly fries.

“This is a nice place, how'd you know about it?” Derek wonders out loud, as he sips his milkshake. 

“My mom used to bring me here whenever I felt sad. We always ordered Oreo milkshakes and curly fries and we'd put on this one song she used to like on the jukebox and it was great, it was like our thing, y’know?”

Derek shoots Stiles a smile, “Yeah.. what song was it?” 

Stiles stands up and for a moment Derek wonders if he's overstepped a line, but Stiles walks over to the jukebox and inserts a coin, pressing a couple of buttons before returning to his seat.

Immediately the diner is filled with a song, that Derek instantly recognises as Should I Stay Or Should I Go. He watches as Stiles multitasks between eating his burger and dancing to the song, so that he ends up doing a strange little dance whilst he eats his burger.

Derek just watches him, the way his eyes light up and he struggles not to laugh but the smile covers his features anyway and his eyes crinkle at the edges and he looks so happy that Derek feels slightly intoxicated. 

When the song finishes, Stiles lets out a happy little sigh and Derek reaches across the table and squeezes his hand affectionately. He goes to pull it back but Stiles grabs on, linking their fingers together and it feels strangely like they're on a date. 

“I just realised that I have no idea if you're seeing someone at the moment!” Stiles says, and then raises his eyebrows in a silent question.

Derek shakes his head firmly, “No, I'm not. Why? Do you need relationship advice?” He says curiously, his heart sinking as he thinks about Stiles bringing someone else to the diner and playing the song and eating curly fries.

“Yeah, kinda.. there's this guy I like but I don't know if he likes me back or if it's too soon to tell. I don't want to rush into things but it feels like I've known him forever.” Stiles admits, taking a sip of his milkshake.

Derek thinks over it for a couple of seconds before answering, “I'd say go for it.” He tells Stiles, even though he can't bear to think about Stiles kissing somebody else.

Another song fires up in the jukebox and this time Stiles pulls him up from the booth, fries abandoned as they start dancing awkwardly around the restaurant to the song, Derek focusing mainly on his feet so he doesn't step on Stiles’s.

They stay in the diner for a while longer, alternating between dancing and eating, before Stiles pays the girl and they leave, heading back towards the apartment. It's the most fun Derek’s had in what feels like forever, where he feels as though he can actually be himself without being embarrassed, without feeling like he doesn't deserve to be happy.

They arrive at the apartment and Derek’s about to unlock the door when Stiles stops him. “Also..” Stiles stammers, “I wanted to, just, uh, just do something.” He says quietly. 

Derek watches him intently, not rushing him, just waiting for what Stiles wants to do. His heart is beating out of his chest as he waits for Stiles to make a move. 

Stiles gently leans up and kisses his cheek, before waiting, as if needing a reaction. Derek lets himself smile softly and Stiles takes this as the green light, because suddenly their lips are colliding and their teeth clink together slightly and Stiles tastes of Oreos and Derek’s hands move down to his waist and it's perfect, it feels like he can breathe a little clearer when they're joint.

Derek pulls away first, his eyes open as he watches Stiles. The boy’s eyes are still shut and his lips still pursed, as though he's trying to remember the feel of Derek’s lips. Derek’s hands are still resting on his waist and Stiles is cupping his cheeks.

Derek speaks first, “Was.. was that okay?” He doesn't know a whole lot about Stiles’s ex but he definitely wants to make sure that Stiles is okay with it.

“Are you kidding? I kissed you, of course it was okay!” Stiles smiles and then he leans back up for another kiss. Stiles takes his hand as he unlocks the door and they tumble inside together, alternating between kissing and heading towards Stiles’s bedroom.

They stumble inside and down onto the bed, and just watch each other, Derek tracing Stiles’s features with his hand. He leans in again and fastens their lips together. Then he kisses Stiles’s forehead, his cheeks, his nose, placing kisses all along his face.

“There's something I need to tell you.” He says softly, pecking Stiles’s lips again.

“Oh god, this is where you tell me you're a werewolf or something.” Stiles jokes but Derek can tell he’s worried, as though Derek is about to tell Stiles it was all a mistake.

“No, not quite.” Derek replies, and then swallows nervously, “My ex.. she was this girl, her name was Kate. Kate Argent.” He hears Stiles inhale sharply, as if realising why he had been funny with Allison, “she was manipulative, and she.. she tried to hurt my family. Tried to hurt me.” 

“You don't have to tell me, Der.” Stiles whispers, squeezing Derek’s hand gently. 

Derek shakes his head, “I want to. I trust you.” He smiles, and continues, “she'd hit me a lot, tell me I was worthless and stuff like that.. used me. And I just wanted to tell you that.. I, uh, I'm not great with relationships, I'd like to go slow, if that's okay?” 

Stiles nods frantically, “Yes! Yes, yes, I promise. We’ll go as slow as you want.” Stiles assures him. Derek presses their lips together again, feeling as though he won't ever get tired of feeling Stiles’s lips against his.

They fall asleep tracing each other’s features in the quiet of their apartment.

\--- 

Derek wakes up feeling warm all over, a smile still etched on his face as he opens his eyes. He sits up abruptly when he realises Stiles isn't in the bed with him, his heart beating slightly faster in worry. 

He feels slightly ruffled, still wearing his clothes from the previous day, but that's the least of his concerns as he walks out of Stiles’s bedroom. He stops in relief, when he sees Stiles standing at the counter, making breakfast, humming the Star Wars theme tune as he starts baking pancakes.

Derek sneaks up behind him, wrapping his arms around Stiles’s middle and starts pressing gentle kisses from Stiles’s jaw to down his neck. “Good morning.” Derek mumbles into Stiles’s neck. 

Stiles moans and turns around, pressing his lips to Derek’s frantically, pancakes long forgotten. Derek presses their bodies together, and sneaks his hands down to Stiles’s legs, pulling him up so that Stiles’s legs are wrapped around his waist for support and Derek’s holding him up.

Derek walks over to the counter, placing Stiles on top as they continue kissing, his hands coming up to cup Stiles’s face. He feels Stiles hands creep up his neck and then wrap into his hair, gently tugging.

Derek would have been perfectly fine to continue all day if it wasn't for the beeping sound to signal that the pancakes were burning. “Oh well,” Stiles comments as he shoves the burnt pancakes in the bin, “it was worth it.” He winks and places a kiss on Derek’s jaw.

Derek blushes, turning away defensively and busying himself by getting cereal out of the cupboards. He hands Stiles a box, smiling at him softly as they head to the dining area, sitting next to each other.

“What do you want to do today?” Derek asks as he spoons Frosties into his mouth (something Stiles has already joked about.) 

“Shopping? I kinda want to go look at some clothes and stuff? If that's okay?” Stiles responds, a bit of milk dripping down his cheek as he continues eating his own cereal.

Derek nods happily, “Anything you want to do.” He stands up, placing a kiss on Stiles’s head before walking into his bedroom to shower and pick what to wear. As he stands under the hot stream, letting the water cascade over his back as he thinks about the past couple of days. He feels so incredibly happy, and lucky, that he found Stiles, and that Stiles returns his affections. 

He finishes his shower quicker than usual, not wanting to waste any time, and then goes to his wardrobe to choose what to wear. He feels stupid doing it, but also feels like he wants to look like he made an effort for Stiles. He eventually settles on a long sleeved blue top, jeans and his favourite leather jacket.

He heads back out and sees Stiles walking around in a pair of jeans, towelling his hair. This is the first time that he's seen Stiles without a top on and he stops short in his tracks. Stiles is lean, with a couple of muscles, and hundreds of moles covering his body. Derek makes a promise to himself to kiss every single mole that covers Stiles’s skin as he watches Stiles towelling his hair dry.

When the two of them are finally ready, Derek grabs his wallet and phone, and they head out to the parking lot. Derek tugs Stiles towards the Camaro, clambering inside and waiting for Stiles to climb in the passenger seat before he darts across the gear stick and gives the boy get another kiss. 

He doesn't exactly know what they are, dating, boyfriends, or something in between but in that moment he doesn't care, as long as he gets to kiss Stiles, and as long as there's nobody else kissing Stiles.

Stiles reaches over and links their hands together as Derek drives towards the biggest mall. Seeing as it's a Sunday, he's hoping that there won't be too many people, seeing as he really, really hates big crowds of people, especially slow walking shoppers.

They head inside, Stiles instantly clamouring that he wants to look inside the video game store and Derek doesn't know how to say no to Stiles, so he simply nods and follows. He watches as Stiles looks around the comics, his eyes lighting up as he does. Derek doesn't care that he feels slightly bored, it's worth it to watch Stiles looking so excited about the comics in front of him.

Eventually Stiles selects the comic he wants and then head up to the counter, paying for them and then leaving. As they head towards the bookstore, Derek wonders how Stiles would react if he took his hand. He figures neither of them are closeted but he doesn't want to make Stiles uncomfortable by taking his hand in front of a bunch of people.

He gently reaches out and brushes his hand against Stiles, to check he's not making him uncomfortable. Apparently he isn't, because Stiles instantly reaches out and links their hands together, shooting a Derek a shy smile.

As they walk into the bookstore, Derek hears a shriek of “Derek Hale!” and he turns around anxiously to see who it is. Malia is rushing towards him, holding a bunch of Forever 21 bags, her shoulder length hair whipping around as she almost collides into them.

“Derek!” She repeats, darting out to hit his chest, “you did not tell me that you and Stiles got together! You've had a crush on him for ages and you only just now make a move?”

“You've had a crush on me for ages?” Stiles pipes up, looking at Derek with a look that can only be described as affection.

“She's exaggerating.” Derek mumbles, at the same time Malia says, “He went on and on about how amazing you were, got tiring after awhile.” She pauses, looking at her watch and then continues, “I've got to go, I’m meeting this girl Kira about my classes, but you better tell me all about this! Oh, and I'd turn your phone off, since I'm gonna tell Erica and the others.” She smiles triumphantly, squeezing Stiles’s arm before turning on her heel and walking off at a fast pace.

“You didn't tell me you liked me.” Stiles grins, blushing slightly as he watches Stiles. Derek tells him to shut up, kisses his cheek and then heads into the bookstore to look around. He's always loved books, ever since his father would take him to the library every weekend, and he could spend hours at a time simply browsing books.

He begins pouring over the sections of the books whilst Stiles heads over to the history section to look. He pours over a couple of his favourite authors but can't seem to find anything he likes. He heads over to the ‘fill it yourself’ section when he sees a book titled ‘Why I Love You’.

He checks to see Stiles isn't looking, and quickly rushes to the nearest till. He's not in love with Stiles, not yet, but there are so many things he loves about Stiles and so many things he wants to tell Stiles that it freaks him out. He puts the book into his backpack and walks over to Stiles, who's standing by the Percy Jackson books, accompanied by a young boy who looks about ten or eleven.

The two of them seem to be having a very serious conversation about the books versus the movies and Derek just watches fondly as they do so. 

Once the boy has left to go find his mother, and Derek has Stiles all to himself, he smiles, “Do you want to get Taco Bell?” Derek suggests, since he knows how much the brunette loves the food there, as he's heard many times in Stiles’s rants about how good it is.

Unsurprisingly, Stiles nods eagerly and grabs Derek’s hand, dragging him towards the nearest Taco Bell. They order and take their seats, smiling at each other shyly.

“Der.. I just wanted to ask, um, what.. what are we?” Stiles asks softly, avoiding Derek’s glance suddenly. Derek swallows, unsure of how he should answer. He doesn't want to freak Stiles out by saying the wrong thing but he also doesn't want Stiles to think he doesn't like him that way.

“What do you want us to be?” Derek replies, studying Stiles like he would a picture, watching Stiles’s cupid-bow lips and his beautiful brown eyes.

“Well, I kinda.. was wondering if you'd want to be my boyfriend.” He anxiously looks away, not wanting to meet Derek’s eyes.

Derek grabs Stiles’s hand from across the table, “I know it's moving slightly fast, but it feels right. Yes, I want to be your boyfriend.” Derek tells him firmly, leaning over and pressing a kiss to Stiles's cheek.

“No freaking way.” Stiles suddenly whisper-yells, bringing Derek in closer, “don't look, but I swear to god that guy from the park yesterday is over at that table.”

Derek subtly turns around, pretending like he's just observing his surroundings as he follows Stiles’s eyes. He then sees the man from the ice cream truck sitting at a table, eating. He turns around and grabs Stiles’s hand to prevent him from standing up, “Do not go and make another joke about his name.” Derek warns him, grinning. Stiles bitterly complains that Derek is ‘no fun’ but he remains seated even so.

As they eat, Stiles asks about Derek’s family, and for once, Derek feels comfortable opening up about them. Usually he doesn't discuss his family with anyone apart from Boyd, Erica or Isaac, because he can't put them in anymore danger, but with Stiles, he knows that the boy would never want to hurt them.

He talks about days at the beach and the funfairs when he was younger, about how Laura helped him study for exams and Cora hit a boy in her year who was making jokes about Derek. He tells Stiles about being on the basketball team in Beacon Hills, which is when Stiles’s freezes, the straw of his drink trapped between his teeth.

“You went to Beacon Hills High?” Stiles splutters ungracefully, leaning forward expectantly.

Derek’s eyebrows pinch together in confusion, “Yeah, why?” 

“Because so did I.” Stiles responds quickly, his brain whirring away as he tries to connect the pieces.

“Okay, so we went to the same school?” Derek prompts, not seeing what Stiles is getting so excited about. 

“Yeah,” Stiles backtracks, taking a sip of his drink, “and I remember that every Thursday night, my dad’s shift at the station he used to work at in Beacon Valley would overrun, so I had to wait in the gym after lacrosse practice, whilst the basketball team practiced. And I remember one time I was panicking, because my dad was late and he wasn't answering his texts and one of the basketball players found me in the locker room and calmed me down.”

Derek’s mouth has dropped open in realisation, “And I remember every Thursday, this kid with a buzzcut would wait on the bleachers and I always found him crazy weird. But one week he seemed on edge and disappeared, so I excused myself and went to find him.”

He speaks at the same time as Stiles, both whispering, “and calmed him out of a panic attack.” 

“So you're telling me that all this time we’ve lived alongside each other and never even known it? And one week you just disappeared?”

“Because my dad got promoted to Sheriff and the timing was different.” Stiles finishes. 

Derek feels his mind whirling - he and Stiles had met in their teenage years, when he were only fifteen or sixteen. Then after Kate, his family had moved away from Beacon Hills to another small city, and then he'd relocated to Oakland after university.

“Wait, wait, so how'd you end up here? Your dad and all your friends?” Derek asks him, leaning across towards him. 

“After a while, my dad got relocated here, maybe when I was like eighteen or nineteen. Scott and his mom moved a year or two later when his mom wanted to work in a different hospital. I've known Scott since I was in high school and we met most of our friends when we went to uni. Then Liam took an internship at the vet’s which is where Scott was working part-time so that's how we met him.” Stiles finishes, his hands doing most of the talking for him. 

“This is crazy.” Derek remarks, “my family moved after Kate.. and that's how I ended up here. I met Boyd at my first job, in a department store, and he already knew Erica and Isaac, so..” He pauses, smiling at Stiles, “Malia already lived here with our Uncle and so we figured it would be a good place to come.”

Stiles runs a hand over his face, shoving some more food into his mouth, “This is gonna sound dumb, but it's like.. it's like we were meant to be together or something.” Stiles ducks his head, embarrassed at his comment.

Derek squeezes his hand and then holds it to his mouth, gently kissing Stiles’s palm, “It feels exactly like that.” 

They spend the rest of the meal in stunned silence, just watching each other and studying each other's features.

Derek realises he's never believed in soulmates until he met Stiles.

\---

After a week or so more of them getting used to being together, Stiles suggests that his friends met Derek’s friends.

“I mean,” Stiles tells Derek as he spoons Nutella into his mouth and kisses Derek occasionally as he's cooking, “now that we’re together, shouldn't we introduce our friends to each other? I mean, Isaac’s single and there's a single girl in my group so..” Stiles wiggles his eyebrows expectantly.

“You're not setting up my little brother.” Derek tells Stiles, as he stirs the pasta some more, “But ask your friends if they're free this weekend, they can come over here.” Stiles squeaks excitedly, jumping down from the counter and pressing his face up against Derek’s back.

“Stiles, you're covered in Nutella. Get off.” Derek protests, attempting to push Stiles away but the boy is attached to him like a limpet. Stiles clings to him desperately as Derek attempts to push him off. 

“But you're warm.” Stiles protests, his face nuzzling into Derek’s chest like a puppy. 

“And you're infested with chocolate.” Derek counters, but he doesn't attempt to move Stiles further, instead allowing the boy to cling to him as he makes the pasta.

“So tomorrow they should come over?” Stiles mumbles, his voice muffled by fabric.

Derek nods, twisting around awkwardly to plant a kiss onto Stiles’s hair. 

Stiles whoops in celebration, jogging over to the couch and jumping over the back as he pulls out his phone. Derek laughs at his childlike demeanour as he grabs the cheese from the fridge and heads over to the sofa.

He watches Stiles tapping out a message to a group titled ‘Friendos’ (he guesses this was Stiles’s choice) as he places the two bowls onto the table.

“Done!” Stiles yells suddenly, waving his phone into Derek’s face, the excitement clear on his face.

“You're obviously very excited about this.” Derek says, stilling Stiles’s arms and directing his attention to the pasta.

Stiles leans over and kisses Derek’s lips gently, in a way that makes Derek’s head swirl with emotion, at the soft press of lips just for the sake of it.

Stiles digs his fork into the tomato sauce, eating it messily as he links his hand with Derek’s (very impractical for the situation but Derek lets it slide).

They talk for a little about Stiles’s week at work and about how Jake misses his ‘werewolf’ and Stiles tells him stories about irritating parents he's encountered.

“Tell me about what you did today.” Stiles pleads, and Derek obliges, explaining his planning for a new building project that his company is working on.

Stiles listens, actually listens as he talks, another thing that just makes Derek like him even more. He's never dated someone who listens to him and likes him for his personality as opposed to his looks.

Lying together on the couch, he traces patterns into Stiles’s skin, Stiles’s head rested on his neck. He feels Stiles gently press a kiss into his neck, and then his jaw, and then he feels lips against his. He doesn't think he’ll ever get used to the feeling of Stiles’s lips. Slightly chapped, but still soft.

They fall asleep on the couch, holding each other.

\---

Derek wakes up before Stiles to the sound of the doorbell ringing. He stumbles towards the door in a sleep induced haze, and manages to get it open after a couple of tries.

“Hello, Derek.” She looks different to how he remembers her but still has the same cold eyes, the same perfect blonde hair, the same twisted smirk and the same bored expression, like talking to somehow less than her was wasting her time.

He recoils with shock, putting the bolt lock onto the door so that he can still slightly see her but that she can't actually come into his apartment.

“How the hell do you know where I live?” He wants it to come out confident and brave but instead his voice trembles with fear of her.

Her face contours alarmingly, a look of almost pure evil replacing the model-like face she'd had before. “Now, Derek, that's no way to talk to your girlfriend. I'll give this for free though - your Uncle Peter is easy to convince.” 

The ground seems to shake beneath Derek’s feet and he can feel himself panicking until a hand links with his. 

“Hi. I'm Stiles, Stiles Stilinski. As in Sheriff Stilinski. Right now, you're trespassing, and don't think I don't know that you’re not allowed near these apartments, or Derek. You better leave, right now, or I swear to god you'll regret it.” Stiles voice sounds completely different to the way he usually speaks. It's coated with venom and threat and Derek doesn't have to look to know that Stiles is glaring at her. Stiles goes to shut the door and then pauses, “and just for your information, you're nothing to Derek. I'm his boyfriend.” and with that, he slams the door in her face.

Derek doesn't move from the door until he can hear that she's gone and then he falls to the floor, unable to breathe. If Kate knows where he lives, then Derek guesses she knows where his family and friends live. She knows where his family lives.

He doesn't realise he's stopped breathing until he feels Stiles touch his hand gently. “In and out. Come on, breathe. Breathe with me.” He slowly adjusts his breathing to match Stiles’s, going in and out slowly until he's returned to normal.

“I'll call my dad, okay? We’ll get cameras put in, or something. Do you need to be alone? I can go over to my apartment, well, not technically mine anymore, but nobody's living there right now and I can probably get in with my old key.” Stiles talks slowly, making sure Derek keeps breathing with him.

Derek shakes his head, “No.” He gasps, gripping Stiles’s hand frantically, “please, don't leave me alone.” 

Stiles helps him over to the sofa and kneels in front of him, waiting for Derek to be okay to speak again. Derek’s hands are shaking too much to grip the water Stiles offers him but he clears his throat in a attempt to talk.

“Call your dad.” Derek’s voice is slow and wavering, “but.. I think we need to move. I can't.. I can't be in this house, not if she knows.” 

Stiles nods instantly, reaching for his phone, “Okay. Der, why don't you look into getting a restraining order?” Stiles squeezes Derek’s hand gently.

“Maybe.” He responds and then sits on the sofa, sipping water as Stiles rings his father. He stays seated on the sofa when the police arrive and start looking around, and asking Stiles questions since Derek can't answer any, not when she was right in front of him.

He’s still seated when the last police officer leaves, with the papers to request a restraining order signed by him.

Stiles brings over a snack bar for him and starts talking whilst Derek eats, “So you want to, uh, you want to move? Where do you think you're gonna go?” He sounds casual but Derek knows what he's really asking.

“Stiles. I know our whole relationship hasn't really been.. traditional, but of course I want you to come with me.” He promises, “maybe we can look for houses nearby or something. I don't know, yet, but I do know that I trust you.”

Stiles is audibly relieved, darting in to kiss Derek’s forehead. He nods, and then comes to sit beside Derek. “Okay. But, I'm helping you pay. I don't want this to feel like you're paying for everything.” Derek tries to protest, since he knows Stiles simply doesn't have the money but Stiles shushes him with a gentle kiss to the cheek. Derek knows Stiles is trying to distract him and he's grateful but his mind keeps swirling around with thoughts of Kate. Thoughts of her hurting people he cares about. Her hurting Stiles.

He doesn't sleep at all that night, despite Stiles’s best efforts. He takes a warm bath and they cuddle up under the duvet whilst Stiles gently whispers to him about nothing in particular but he's alert all night, clinging to Stiles and straining his ears for the slightest sounds of Kate.

He feels like he's sixteen all over again, and she has control of him, so he feels isolated and trapped, and he hates the feeling. He hates it.

\---

Derek’s drinking coffee in the kitchen by the time Stiles wakes up, walking out wearing his same pyjamas that he's been wearing all week. Stiles looks as tired as Derek feels, the under of his eyes dark and his hair mussed up, yawning every couple of seconds. 

“Morning.” Stiles whispers softly, leaning in to kiss Derek’s cheek as he reaches for the Nutella, which by this time is almost finished from Stiles’s obsession with it.

“I have to go into the office today, I've got a meeting. You gonna be okay here?” Derek explains, brushing his hand against Stiles’s cheek. The boy nods, his mocha brown eyes subdued from the previous night’s events. Derek darts in, pressing a kiss to his boyfriend’s forehead before grabbing his bag and heading out of the apartment. 

As soon as he arrives at the office, he's worried about Stiles, constantly texting and calling him to check he's okay. He can't stop thinking about Kate somehow getting into the house and finding Stiles. Derek knows what she's like when she's angry - he has scars to prove it - and he feels sick at the thought of Kate hurting Stiles.

Stiles texts him selfies all morning to update him, sending a picture of him with spoon of Nutella in his mouth, a picture of him lounged on the couch, a picture of him cooking lunch with the caption ‘more for me’ and a bunch of other funny selfies. Derek knows Stiles is trying to ease his tension but he just can't stop thinking about what might happen if Kate gets in.

His thoughts are interrupted when Braeden, head of the social networking department, who is completely no-nonsense, walks in and tells him he has a meeting. He relays the message to Stiles and reluctantly leaves his phone in his office. 

Derek follows Braeden into the meeting room and sits in one of the chairs, helping himself to some of the complimentary coffee (he needs it) and just sits back, allowing everyone else to do the talking. He picks up on a couple of things but he mainly just sits there worrying about Stiles.

As soon as the meeting comes to a close, he shoots out of the office in a rush and heads back to his own, immediately reaching for his mobile. His heart stops when he sees the screen displaying ‘Stiles: 37 missed calls’ and he immediately grabs it, sliding to unlock it and pressing Stiles’ contact to call him back. When there's no answer, he grabs his house keys, not caring what he's missing.

He's pretty sure he breaks a couple of laws at the amount of speeding he does to reach the apartment, but he doesn't care, all he cares about is getting to Stiles. It takes him a couple of tries before he can unlock the door, his hands shaking in fear, but when he does, he bursts in instantly.

He stops in his tracks at the sight. A lot of the stuff is thrown onto the floor, as though somebody was looking for something, and there's glass coating the floor like butter on bread, which obviously means the person didn't find what they wanted.

Derek yells Stiles’s name in panic, and hears a muffled groan from one of the bathrooms. He runs over and opens the door in a flurry of limbs, to see his boyfriend, a piece of tape of his mouth, tied up against the radiator, his pale, clear skin littered with bruises. 

Derek doesn't realise he's crying until he tries to speak. He chokes out Stiles’s name, rushing over to untie him. He gently pulls the tape off and helps Stiles up. “What happened? Stiles, what happened?” He presses, taking Stiles’s hands.

“She came in, looking for you. Said something about needing your bank account for money, and then she, she saw me and she said that I was the thing getting between her and her money and she hit me and tied me up.” Stiles’s voice comes out in gasps, his voice trailing off into sobs.

“Hey, hey. It's okay, I'll call the police, okay? We’ll move tomorrow. They'll catch her.” He promises, sweeping the shards of glass into the kitchen, resolving to clean it up later. He hears a knock at the door - maybe Stiles already called them? - and gently kisses Stiles’s forehead before walking over to answer it.

As soon as he does, he's shoved aside by someone, who runs in and instantly goes over to Stiles. He shuts the door and goes to see who it is, when he feels something collide with his face. 

“Scott!” He hears Stiles yell angrily, as he grabs his face in pain, flinching backwards. He can't quite put together what he's done to make Scott, who he actually quite likes, so angry that he’d want to punch him in the face.

“What did you do? Stiles, you can't date him anymore, you might think it's one time but it's not, you can't let him do this!” Scott’s yelling angrily, his head whirling between Derek and Stiles as though he can't decide who to look at.

“No, Derek didn't, it was Kate, it wasn't him.” Stiles protests weakly, but Derek’s frozen on the spot. Because it was him. If he hadn't started getting close to Stiles, Kate never would have found him. It's Derek’s fault. 

“Get out.” Derek whispers softly, barely audible. Scott and Stiles, not hearing him, continue arguing angrily. “Get out!” He yells, hating the way Stiles flinches away from him in fear. Scott sneers at him, grabbing Stiles’s arm and helping his best friend out of the apartment, away from Derek so he can't get hurt. 

He can't see Stiles’s face but he knows what it must look like. He's traced and memorised Stiles’s face enough times to know what he looks like when he's in pain, and he can't turn around, can't look at Stiles’s face as he watches him in disgust. 

The door slams, echoing loudly in the loneliness and Derek’s back where he started. Completely alone.

He cries until he has no tears left, and then he gets angry, throwing books and screaming into the abandoned house. He tidies up the mess in his apartment, now not knowing which is his doing and which is Kate’s. Derek walks to Stiles’s bedroom and falls onto the bed, burying his nose into the pillows and falling into sleep, not wanting to be awake when he's alone with his thoughts.

\---

A loud bang startles him awake, and he opens his eyes, fear seizing his heart, knowing that she must be coming for him. He's still buried underneath Stiles’s duvet as he stands up, grabbing the baseball bat from the corner of Stiles’s bed and gripping in his hand as he goes to answer the door.

He slowly opens it, just enough that he can see through the crack. He instantly calms when he sees Erica. He can't tell if she's alone or not but knows she'd never bring trouble to him, so he unlocks the bolt.

Erica walks in, followed by Boyd, then Isaac, and surprisingly, Cora. Cora’s met his friends once or twice but it's not like they see each other often so he's confused as to why they're all here, until Sheriff Stilinski walks in.

“You're not in trouble.” He speaks quietly, as though anything loud will reduce Derek to tears. “Scott told me what happened, and Stiles explained about the person who's hurting you. Kate? Kate Argent?” He offers, and Derek inhales sharply as an answer.

The Sheriff nods and sits down on the edge of the couch. “I'm just here to tell you that the entire police department is working on finding her, and when we do, we'll make sure she never comes near you again.” 

Derek nods slowly but he's confused, “Why? It's not like I have any proof or anything.” 

The Sheriff smiles, a sad smile that doesn't reach his eyes, “Yes, but Stiles does. He recorded everything Kate said without her knowing, and we know what her next moves are. She underestimated him, obviously, because she told Stiles all of her plans.” Derek feels Erica’s hand squeeze his gently, and his sister’s resting on his shoulder as he takes it all in.

Stiles. 

“Where's Stiles? Is he okay? Does Scott still think I-” he breaks off, knowing he won't be able to keep it together if he continues. He hears Isaac tell him that Stiles is getting checked over at the hospital with Scott, and Derek’s immediately standing up.

“Hey, hey, no.” Cora says, gently sitting him back down, “the others will leave, you'll eat and shower and then we’ll go to the hospital together. This isn't your fault, Der.” She tells him and Derek finds himself nodding, even though he doesn't want to wait another second.

The others stream out, reminding him to call them as soon as he can, and he numbly stands up, moving like a robot towards the shower. He showers quickly, not wanting to be alone for even a minute and then dresses, heading back out to see Cora. She hands him a plateful of food which he pushes away, grabbing a snack bar and his car keys. He hears her huff in irritation but she follows him anyway. 

He doesn't think about anything the entire drive there, his mind on a loop of Stiles, Stiles, Stiles and he knows he won't be calm until he sees that Stiles is okay, unharmed.

They arrive at the hospital and immediately are taken to his room by the Sheriff, who Derek guesses was waiting for the arrival.

Accompanying him, is Scott. The tanned boy’s usually smiling face is subdued as he watches Derek anxiously. “Derek, I'm so… I'm so, so sorry. I know you wouldn't hurt Stiles, I know you'd never, I just, he's my brother, and I can't..” Scott trails off, looking up at Derek hesitantly.

“It's okay.” Derek responds quietly, “I know why you did it. I would've done the same. We both care about him.” Scott nods and squeezes Derek’s shoulder and then he's allowed to go into the hospital room alone.

He walks inside to the sound of machines beeping. The room is empty apart from a bed, some medical things that Derek doesn't want to even try to identify and Stiles. Stiles startles when he sees him, his eyes widening in shock.

“Stiles? Hey, it's okay.’ Derek moves towards the bed when Stiles backs away in horror, sickeningly similar to the way he used to be around Kate. “Stiles? What's wrong?”

“I got beat up and the first person I remember seeing was you.. did you? Did you hurt me?” Stiles sounds like he's seconds away from tears, his eyes clouding over as he watches Derek.

Derek feels his breathing coming out in gaps, backing away in horror, because Stiles thinks it was him. Stiles thinks that Derek hit him, that Derek hurt him. He hears Scott rush into the room, questions flying through the air but all Derek can see is himself hitting Stiles, and the monster he is. The monster he'll always be.

He can hear Scott speaking, “It wasn't Derek, it was Kate. You remember Kate? We have proof, you recorded her, buddy.” but Derek doesn't care. He knows why Stiles thinks it was him - because why wouldn’t it be? He's violent, unpredictable and angry. He's evil, worse than Kate. He's Stiles’s Kate.

He feels his feet moving but it doesn't feel like he's there at all, it feels like he's in some horrible, twisted nightmare and he's going to wake up next to Stiles and they'll kiss and eat Nutella and go shopping. Except that's not the truth, because he isn't sleeping.

He stumbles home, and then cries himself to sleep in Stiles’s room, trying desperately to get Stiles’s scent back.

\---

The very next day, he starts looking for a new place to live. He can't stay in the apartment, not if she knows where he lives, and not if Stiles does, too. He looks at a bunch of different houses and apartments, each nice but not as nice as the one he'd shared with his boyfriend (ex-boyfriend? He doesn't know.)

He signs the agreements, thanks to Erica pulling a couple of strings at her firm, and starts packing up his things, avoiding Stiles’s bedroom at all costs. He figures that Stiles still has a key and he can come to collect his stuff whenever he wants. Derek doesn't care. He hasn't heard from Stiles since the hospital and Scott’s only texted him once to tell him Stiles is okay. 

Most of the time, he distracts himself with work. Diving into more and more projects to banish all and any thoughts of pale boys littered with moles. He sees Erica a couple of times, Boyd and Isaac too, and his sisters, but other than that, he keeps to himself. It's too painful, being near Stiles’s friends when he knows he has no right to be,he'd never have met them if it wasn't for Stiles.

He tries not to think about it but he misses Stiles. Every second without Stiles’s constant background commentary is agony, and every minute he's alone is worse. His mind is stuck on a loop, relaying the events over and over until he feels like he's on a never-ending rollercoaster that has no off switch. 

He moves to his new apartment five days after the accident. He has more than enough money to pay all of the insurance and fees he needs, and with Erica helping him to find a house, he's packed up all of his boxes, and he moves. He tells his friends his new address, but nobody else. He can't tell Stiles, not when Stiles wouldn't want it anyway.

He cries in the privacy of his home and dives into work and tells himself to forget Stiles.

He fails.

\---

It's around six in the morning when Derek hears a knock on his door. He knows who it is - it'll be Erica, sick with worry, or Isaac, smiling but his eyes scared or Boyd, calm but unsure of how to act around him. He knows that it'll be them, so he opens the door.

It's not. It's him. Stiles is standing in his doorway, soaking wet from the storm outside. He's wearing a pair of jeans and a worn-out jumper from his school days and he's biting his lip anxiously, watching Derek through his eyelashes.

“Stiles!” Derek shouts without meaning to, rushing towards him, “Stiles, you must be freezing, get inside.” Derek doesn't care about how hard he's been working to forget Stiles, or that this is the same Stiles who thinks Derek is like Kate, because above all that, he cares about Stiles more than anything. 

Stiles shivers, and walks inside, his teeth chattering as he looks around, wide-eyed. The house doesn't look like it's been lived with, not without Stiles, and so it looks like a hotel room, unfurnished with any homely touches. Stiles sits on the sofa that Derek does have in his house and the two of them sit in silence, waiting for someone to say something.

“Why are you here? Are you okay?” Derek finally gives in, though he remains standing at the wall furthest from the sofa.

Stiles sighs, running a hand over his face, “I, uh.. I know what happened at the hospital. They said it was a case of short term amnesia, but I remember everything now. Der, I know you would never hurt me. I'm sorry. I just came here to tell you that but you don't.. you don't have to say anything. I just wanted to tell you.” Stiles stands up, a puddle forming from the water in his clothes.

Derek walks forward and takes Stiles’s arm. “Stiles, I.. I know you didn't mean it. I just, I can't be Kate. I won't be her. But I forgive you, it's not your fault.” Derek tells him quietly. He connects his eyes with Stiles, willing the boy to believe him.

“It's not yours either.” Stiles replies, reaching out and touching Derek’s cheek gently, slowly enough that Derek could pull away if he wanted, but he doesn't. 

“Get changed, and we’ll talk?” Derek asks, and Stiles nods in response. Derek tells Stiles where he can find a change of clothes, and then once Stiles disappears, Derek distracts himself by making two mugs of hot chocolate. He realizes how much he missed Stiles, the way he constantly was talking and his hands seemed to speak for him and Derek wants to kiss him. But he also knows he can't put Stiles in anymore danger. 

Stiles reappears, wearing a loose jumper and a pair of sweatpants. It makes Derek’s head spin to see Stiles wearing his clothes, the way it feels so incredibly domestic. He hands Stiles a mug and they sit down opposite each other at the wooden dining table. 

“I'm sorry. For what I said at the hospital. I didn't mean it, I know you wouldn't ever hurt me. And I've missed you, so damn much.” Stiles says, focusing his eyes onto the milky liquid instead of Derek.

“I've missed you so much, it's driving me crazy. Stiles.. I really care about you, you know that, but we can't.. we can't be together. I can't put you at risk, not again.” Derek mutters, his voice low as he desperately tries not to let himself kiss Stiles.

Surprisingly, Stiles seems to be angry, “I can take care of myself! And guess what? It's not your decision to make. It's mine. And I want you, baggage and all, with Kate and everything else, because I..” He breaks off, his voice stuttering, “I care about you. And I want you as my boyfriend, no matter what. If you'll have me?” Stiles looks anxious again, like Derek’s going to deny him.

Derek doesn't say anything, he simply stands up and walks away from the table, watching Stiles. He hears Stiles inhale shakily and get up, heading to the door when he stops him. 

“I want you too.” Derek whispers, barely loud enough to hear in the emptiness of the house, but it's good enough for Stiles, who crashes their lips together. Derek feels a tear escape his eyes as he holds onto Stiles like the boy might disappear any second. He kisses Stiles until he can't breathe, and then he pulls away and rests his forehead against Stiles’, taking in all of him. 

“Let’s go to bed.” Derek suggests and Stiles nods, his eyes lighting up and Derek’s heart aches at how long it's been since he's seen Stiles’s eyes shine. He kisses Stiles again, barely a press of lips before they head into his bedroom. 

He manages to sleep properly for the first time in weeks, his arms wrapped around Stiles as they lay together in silence.

\--- 

Sunlight shines through the curtainless window in Derek’s bedroom, and he opens his eyes, letting himself bask in the warmth for a couple of seconds. 

He expects to see Stiles laying across from him, but the bed is empty. He's hit with a wave of sadness when he realises it was a dream - there's no sign that Stiles was in the room, and there's no wet clothes anywhere. He sighs, running a hand over his face in exasperation at how pathetic he is ; having dreams about his ex-boyfriend who no longer cares about him. 

He goes to get breakfast, before he realises he has zero food in the house. It's bad, he knows, but he's been ordering take-away ever since he moved in, not having the strength to cook without Stiles clinging onto him or kissing his neck as he makes the food. 

Reluctantly, he realises he has to go shopping, and so he grabs his wallet and car keys before heading out to his camaro and driving over to the grocery store. He parks quickly, and rushes inside, wanting to spend the least amount of time possible in the crowded shop.

He works on autopilot, reaching for things without realising, until he finds someone else’s hand linked with his. He's subconsciously reached for a big jar of Nutella and he finds that obviously Nutella is a popular choice of spread, because someone else is tugging on the jar desperately. 

Derek looks up to apologise, and take another jar, when he sees the owner of the hand. It's Stiles. He looks tired, bags under his eyes, wearing a pair of loose sweatpants and Derek studies his jumper for a bit, knowing he recognises it when he realises - it's his jumper. It's his jumper that he gave Stiles on a cold night, and Stiles is wearing it out.

“You can take it. I don't even like Nutella.” Derek tells him, which is stupid, because now Stiles definitely knows that Derek was going through Stiles’s shopping list without realising. 

“We need to talk.” Stiles interrupts, leaving the Nutella where it is on the shelf. Derek figures he must be serious if he's passing up the opportunity of Nutella, so he nods in agreement. 

“Finish shopping and I'll, uh, meet you by the entrance?” Stiles nods and Derek awkwardly shuffles away, finishing his groceries. He could easily just run home, and cause Stiles no more pain or suffering because of Kate. It's the simple option, the one he knows he should do, because it's protecting Stiles but something tugs at him to stay. The selfish part of him.

He offloads his new shopping into the back of his car and then heads for the entrance. Stiles is already standing there, shuffling on his feet awkwardly. “So.. there's a café over there? We could talk.” Derek points out the café, which is slightly crowded but he figures they won't exactly be sitting down for very long.

Stiles shakes his head, “I've got somewhere else in mind. Get in your car and follow me.” Derek raises his eyebrows but obliges, climbing into the camaro and then following the blue jeep. He recognises the roads they're taking but doesn't realise where they're headed until the familiar themed diner pops into view. Floods of memories consume him but he swallows them down and follows Stiles inside.

They sit at the same booth, and order the same meal, and to any outsider, they'd look like just another couple grabbing a bite to eat. The meal is awkward to start with, Derek sipping his milkshake and Stiles looking anywhere but at Derek, until Derek gets fed up and breaks the silence.

He pushes his nervousness down and asks, “Why did you want to talk? You made it pretty clear at the hospital that you didn't want to see me again.” Derek doesn't mean it to sound so angry but it does, because, well, he is angry. Angry at himself for letting somebody get close to him and therefore putting them in danger.

Stiles takes a breath, “I had short term amnesia. I can't remember anything that happened after I ate lunch, and I probably never will. I was texting you and I was planning a surprise for when you got home, and that's all I remember until I woke up in the hospital.” He pauses, popping a fry into his mouth, “They should me the video I took. Not that I need it.. I know you'd never hurt me. Because I trust you.” He finishes his ramble with a sigh.

Derek nods, “Okay. I don't blame you, I know how scary that must've been for you, and I was the first face you saw. But Stiles, we can't be together anymore. I'm not putting you in any more danger. Kate's still out there and I care about you too much for me to risk your safety.” He stands up, abandoning his burger, and grabs his jacket, chucking the money to pay for his meal down. He's almost reached the door when a familiar song starts playing.

He spins around as the first few beats of The Clash fill the small diner. Stiles is staring at the jukebox in shock, still seated from where Derek saw him a couple of minutes ago.

Derek swallows, and shuts his eyes for a second, before stepping out into the cold. It's dark now, and starting to rain. He groans as the rain pools down his shirt but heads towards his car anyway, when he hears “Hey!”

Stiles is running towards him, feet splashing into puddles and hair wild with the water, clutching his flannel as he sprints to where Derek is standing. “Screw that. Screw this, screw all of this. I want you. I don't care about Kate, you're not Kate, okay? You're not her. I want you.” Stiles rambles and then he's surging towards Derek and they're kissing.

Derek knows it's not a dream this time. He can feel Stiles’s wet lips on his, tasting like Oreo like the first time they kissed, and Stiles’s hands clutching his shirt and the rain cascading over both of them like some bad romantic movie, but he doesn't care, because this is him and Stiles.

Stiles makes a noise that sounds like a sob and a laugh all rolled into one. Derek gently pulls away, watching him carefully. Stiles's lips are still pursed and his eyes are wide, and his hands are still clasped into Derek’s jacket. 

“Move in with me.” Derek finds himself saying, “not as roommates. As boyfriends. Move in with me?” He asks quietly, his hands moving up to cup Stiles’s cheeks, framing his face.

Stiles nods, his cheeks wet with water, his smile wider than Derek’s ever seen it. He takes Stiles’s hand and they clamber into his car, Stiles muttering something about collecting the jeep later, and they drive back to Derek’s, back to home. Their hands are clutched together over the gearstick as they exchange glances full of want and excitement and life.

When they reach the house, Stiles gasps in shock, “You’ve been holding out on me!” as they walk up to the door. Derek opens it slowly, groceries in hand as he opens the door and flicks the light on. The house instantly seems warmer with Stiles in it, his wet clothes dripping everywhere like in Derek’s dream, but this time he simply strips out of them and stands in his underwear, watching Derek.

He drops the groceries to the floor and collides with Stiles, mouths pressed together in frantic kisses as his hands scramble to undress.

He maps every inch of Stiles’s body, and kisses every single mole.

\---

He wakes up blearily, his arms wrapped around Stiles’s very naked body. He smiles to himself, pressing a kiss to the back of Stiles’s neck as he stands up to start making breakfast, after getting dressed. He’s halfway through making the scrambled eggs when Stiles finally wakes up, looking around with a confused expression.

“Borrow my sweatpants.” Derek tells him, nodding in his head in the direction of his bedroom, since they'd fallen asleep on the couch after the previous night’s events. Stiles pads along the floor and Derek does not look at his ass (much).

“Hey, so, can I.. can I bring my stuff here?” Stiles asks softly, when they're both seated at Derek’s counter in his kitchen. He's spooning egg into his mouth as he asks, and Derek's never seen anything more disgustingly beautiful before.

“Yes. We’ll start putting it in today, okay? You go pick up the jeep and I'll drive over to yours and grab your stuff? Where are you staying?” Derek asks the last bit guilty, realising he must have had some trouble with his accommodation after the accident. Stiles kisses his cheek in reassurance, grabbing his car keys as he informs Derek all his stuff is at Scott’s. 

Derek feels nervous the entire ride to Scott’s. The younger boy is kind and gentle but fiercely protective, and although Derek knows why Scott punched him, he's still slightly apprehensive of seeing him again.

He pulls into a driveway crowded with cars, and he raises an eyebrow even though there's nobody around to see as he walks up to the front door. Knocking twice, he waits anxiously until somebody opens it, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

Kira opens it, her daughter resting on her hip, and smiles instantly. Kira’s an extremely hard person to dislike, and she welcomes him in, giving him a side hug as she beckons for him to follow her into the living area. He sees Scott, Liam, Mason and Corey all scattered on the carpet, surrounded by papers and textbooks. Kira explains that Scott is helping them with a science project, and Derek nods, though he doesn't realise understand what the project is on.

Scott stands up as soon as he sees him, rushing over and pulling him into a hug. Derek hesitates before wrapping his arms around Scott, feeling somewhat safe around the boy.

“Stiles’s stuff is upstairs, he texted me that you guys made up. I'm really happy, he cares about you a lot.” Scott tells him truthfully, and then rolls his eyes, muttering ‘kids’, when he hears a yell of “Scott! Come help!” 

Derek collects Stiles’s stuff as quickly as he can, shoving all of the possessions into a suitcase. Stiles had only brought a small amount of items when he'd first moved in and Derek guesses that the rest of his things are in storage somewhere. He heads back downstairs, hugging Kira and Scott goodbye and waving to the three younger members, mentioning that they should get together at some point, and then he's out the door and driving back home.

When he gets there, Stiles is waiting outside the door, playing a game on his phone. “Sorry, didn't have a key.” Stiles tells him and Derek leans in, pressing his lips to Stiles’s and grinning, promising to give him the spare key in the cupboard once they get inside.

Heading into Derek’s bedroom, the two of them start to put up Stiles’s things. They decide to share a room without speaking about it, both of them knowing how well they sleep when they're side by side. The house instantly brightens up with all of Stiles’s things, his posters, his random trinkets and his books scattered in every possible place. They look through a couple of catalogues at paint colours and furniture and Derek feels achingly loving towards him.

“I've gotta go back to work tomorrow, since I've already had Monday and Tuesday off from before, but we can do the whole day together today.” Derek nods and points to another paint colour when Stiles’s phone starts ringing loudly.

He sighs in exasperation and pulls the device out, answering with a, “Hey, dad, what's up?” From what Derek can hear of his side of the conversation, Stiles is explaining his current living situation and it seems to be a normal conversation until Stiles freezes in shock.

“What? Are you sure? Are you absolutely sure?” He whispers into the phone, his voice shaking and Derek stands up, grabbing his hand in worry. The call ends quickly, Stiles telling his dad he loves him and then turning to Derek.

“What's happened? What's wrong?” Derek instantly bombards him with questions, worried for what might have happened.

“They found her, Der. She's in prison, we’re.. we’re safe.” Stiles can barely contain his happiness now, tears trailing down his cheeks as he jumps in excitement. 

Derek is frozen because - they found her. She's never going to be able to hurt him or anyone he cares about again. She's gone. 

“I love you.” He blurts out, which stops Stiles mid-jump, his mouth dropping open comically. Derek freezes too, at the realisation of what he just said.

“Stiles, I, you don't have to say it back, I-” he's cut off by someone’s lips pressed against his own and then Stiles is jumping up, legs wrapped around Derek’s waist and Derek thinks he might be crying a little.

Stiles pulls away and begins peppering Derek’s face with kissing, “I love you, I love you, I love you.” He whispers this over and over with each kiss, holding Derek like he might disappear. 

“I love you.” Derek repeats again. He doesn't ever want to stop saying it to Stiles, he wants to say it every single day and make sure Stiles knows just how loved he is. He has to make sure Stiles knows. 

Stiles nods furiously, his eyes swimming with happy tears, “I love you too.” He says gently, leaning in and pressing their lips together again, wrapping his hands around Derek’s neck.

They lazily makeout for most of the morning, until Stiles eventually pulls away and asks if their friends can meet. Derek rolls his eyes but nods, completely unable to say no to Stiles (that could be a problem with Stiles’s extreme Nutella addiction.)

Derek types out a text to his group chat with Erica, Boyd and Isaac, ‘Come over to house. Stiles wants you to meet his friends.’ He shoots out the message whilst he gets dressed, pulling on a blue top and black jeans, and then checks his phone for replies.

Erica: Sounds good, see u then! Glad to see you've made up <3  
Boyd: Ok see you in a bit  
Isaac: can't wait big bro!! tell stiles we gotta discuss the new spiderman movie

Derek smiles at the responses, passing on Isaac’s message to Stiles, who grins and nods happily. Stiles is dressed now, wearing a green flannel and jeans, and Derek can't help pulling Stiles into his lap on the sofa, gently kissing him. He feels like their lips were made to fit together, stupid as it sounds.

The doorbell rings not long after the texts were sent and Stiles excitedly jumps up, abandoning Derek’s lap and rushing to open the front door. Derek hears an excited yelp of “Buddy!” and then Scott walks in, followed by Stiles and Kira, who's carrying Mellie in her arms.

Derek stands up and hugs both Scott and Kira, waving to the baby gently. He's always loved children, since he has so many baby cousins, and he coos with her until the doorbell rings. Before long, people are spilling in, Malia, Jackson, Ethan and Aiden, and Jake, and the rest of their friends.

Malia gravitates towards Erica, already knowing her well, but before long she's talking to Kira about her class and then chatting to Allison and Lydia as well. Jake clamours to sit on Derek’s lap as he talks to Jackson, who seems to have some interesting things to say - though Derek still can't see what's so lizard-y about him.

“So, Jackson, are you seeing anyone?” Derek asks, making polite conversation, but apparently it was the wrong thing to say, as Jackson instantly starts laughing, something which suits him more than his usual stony faced expression. Derek wonders what's so funny as he watches a couple of Jackson’s close friends, including Stiles, join in.

“No, the only thing I see is my lizard, Lyle.” He explains. Derek must looked confused, because Jackson hurried to add, “I'm ace.” 

“Oh,” Derek replies, smiling and nodding as a signal that he knows what Jackson’s talking about. Before Derek figured out he wasn't into girls, he'd spent a lot of time asking questions to people of different sexualities to try and see if he could figure it out.

They continue talking for a while, Jake earnestly attempting to join in, before Stiles announces the food is ready. He's enough food to feed a pack of wolves, and Derek wonders when Stiles actually started making it, because the food stretches to the end of the table and Derek doesn't know how Stiles managed to make that much food in such a short amount of time. 

People help themselves and then they all sit in the living room, some people stretched out on sofas and others simply sitting on the floor. Derek likes this, he feels at home, even if he's still slightly unsure of some of the people, but yeah. This feels right to him. 

Stiles sidles over to him as Scott and Isaac start putting a movie in, and he gently leans in for a kiss. “You taste like ketchup.” Derek complains bitterly, trying to push Stiles’s face away.

“You love it.” Stiles grins, and Derek nods, because he does. 

“I do. I love you.” Derek tells him and he watches as Stiles’s face lights up and he practically jumps onto Derek’s lap to gently kiss him, as the sound of some movie he's never heard of fills the room, and everyone's cuddled up, all lying together in a big group.

Stiles is gently kissing him as the room falls quiet to watch whatever's on, when Jake’s voice pipes up with, “Are you two in love, like my daddies?”

Derek stiffens slightly, not knowing if Stiles wants to make it public or not. Kate certainly didn't, wanting to keep Derek her little secret, hidden away, as if he was something to be ashamed of.

“Yes.” Stiles responds confidently, and when Stiles looks over at Derek, his eyes are filled with so much love that Derek feels like he's going to explode, “We are.”

Derek's never been happier before. This is his home. Stiles is his home.

\---

2 years later..

Derek’s been planning to propose for ages, but isn't sure how best to do it. He decides on taking Stiles back to the diner, the diner they went on their first date to, the diner where he kissed Stiles in the rain. 

He’s already talked to Stiles’s dad, the Sheriff, and, after a long and slightly painfully awkward talk, the Sheriff gave his blessing. Scott was ecstatic as soon as Derek told him, and so were the rest of Stiles’s friends, even Jackson, who pretended furiously not to care but Derek could see him smiling as he excused himself to use the bathroom.

He's told Isaac, who immediately bear-hugged him, and Erica, who demanded to be bridesmaid, and Boyd, who clapped him on the soldier and hugged him gently. He's told his family, Laura, who cried, Cora, who rolled her eyes with a “finally” and Malia, who screamed, “I fucking called it!”

So, basically - He's told everyone except the man he wants to marry. Slight problem.

It's a Friday night, date night, that he plans to do it. He's sweating horrendously, the ring in his pocket seeming to weigh a tonne, dragging down so heavily that it feels like it's going to break the seams of the carefully sewed trousers he's wearing. He holds Stiles’s hand the entire way to the diner, hoping Stiles can't tell. He wants this to be a surprise, wants Stiles’s honest answer.

They sit at the same table they've always sat at, and after they've ordered, Derek tells Stiles, “go put a song on.” and hands him some change to use. As Stiles grins and heads off to put the song on, Derek hurriedly pulls out a book.

He's filled in the ‘Reasons Why I Love You’ book, the book he'd bought when they'd first starting dating and he'd been slightly too enthusiastic, but now he's glad he did. He leaves it on Stiles’s side, and when his boyfriend (soon to be fiancé) returns, he hands him the book.

“Read it.” Derek prompts him, squeezing Stiles’s hand. Stiles smiles, a smile that still has the ability to make Derek want to cry and yell at the same time, because of the amount of love that rushes through him when he sees it. (Laura had thrown a loaf of bread at his head when he'd told her his analogy, saying he was “too soppy for his own good.”) 

He waits until Stiles gets to the last page, and then he stands up and hurriedly kneels on the floor with the ring out in front. He watches as Stiles reads the last sentence that Derek had added himself: I love you, so, marry me?

He hears Stiles choke a sob down and then slowly look up, and then he really does let out a cry when he sees Derek on one knee. He’s shaking and Derek’s beginning to get concerned - maybe he's read it wrong, maybe Stiles doesn't want to marry him at all?

“You idiot. You absolute beautiful, wonderful idiot with the worst timing in the world.” Stiles complains bitterly and then pulls a little box out of his back pocket, “I was gonna propose today, too.” He tells Derek, laughing slightly, although he's still slightly tearful.

Derek takes a deep breath, and, before Stiles can cut in, starts his speech that he'd prepared, “Stiles Stilinski, when I first met you, I found you infuriatingly annoying. You ate so much Nutella, watched TV until God knows what time and often made our grocery shops last up to two hours. But I love you, I love you for all this traits and I wouldn't want to spend my life with anyone else. I love you so, so much, it's,” Derek breaks off, calming himself down since he can hear his voice wavering, “Will you marry me?” He asks softly.

Stiles is silent for a moment and Derek’s heart jolts, an icy feeling shooting through him until Stiles yelps, tears flowing freely. “Yes! Yes, yes, yes, of course I'll marry you!” His boyfriend, now fiancé, flings himself into Derek’s arms, and Derek leans in, joining their lips together.

“I love you. I love you so much.” Derek tells him, leaning his forehead against Stiles’s and gently placing kisses all over the pale skin.

“I love you too.” Stiles responds softly, his eyes shining and Derek leans in again to capture his lips.

EPILOGUE

“Wake up, baby.” Derek opens his eyes groggily, to find Stiles gently littering kisses over his cheek softly. “I'll get the kids washed and dressed if you handle breakfast?” He hears Stiles ask, and Derek nods in agreement, stumbling out of bed and into the shower. He towels himself off, thinking of Stiles as he dresses in his home clothes.

He jogs downstairs, grinning to himself when he hears the sound of his daughter and son playing in the kitchen. They'd got a surrogate, and along with it, two perfect children who were the perfect resemblance of both Derek and Stiles.

Alexander ‘Alec’ Scott Stilinski-Hale, the eldest, was a perfect resemblance of Derek. His eyebrows were thick and nearly always knotted together, he was quiet and brooding yet incredibly intelligent and loyal, as well as having rather prominent cheekbones.

Claudia Talia Stilinski-Hale looked like Stiles would have when he was younger, and if he was a girl. She had gorgeous, shoulder-length brown hair, big expressive brown-amber eyes, skin littered with moles and the same upturned, cupid’s bow lips. 

Derek presses a kiss to both of his children’s heads, grabbing cereal - this week’s choice was Fruit Loops - and then pours the cereal out as Stiles hugs him from behind, dressed lazily in his uniform. 

As the children eat the cereal, he turns to his husband and reminds him of the day’s events, “Remember, Alec and Claudia are both going to play at Scott’s, I think most of the kids are going to be there.. Mellie, Zac, I think Boyd and Erica’s kids are going as well, and maybe Isaac and Cora’s.” Derek had been shocked at first when Cora and Isaac had got together, but if anyone was going to marry his sister, he knew Isaac was best.

“And what are we doing whilst they're at this sleepover?” Stiles asks teasingly, wrapping his arms around Derek’s neck and leaning in for a kiss.

“I guess you'll have to find out.” Derek winks teasingly, as he places a darting kiss on Stiles’s lips. 

“I hate surprises.” Stiles pouts, but he grabs Alec’s hand and backpack even so, pressing another kiss to Derek’s lips before leading Alec out of the house to school.  
Since Claudia’s preschool doesn't start until later, Derek usually works from home and looks after her until it's time.

“Bye!” He hears Stiles yell, and then the house is quiet, apart from Claudia’s talking - she's trying to discuss the latest episode of Peppa Pig, and Derek just nods in agreement with whatever she says, grinning when he notices a sticky note on the fridge in Stiles’s hand-writing which simply reads ‘Love you, Sourwolf’.

He sits down next to Claudia and helps her draw a picture of her family and he realises there's nothing else he wants. This is good.

**Author's Note:**

> i really hope you enjoyed it ! come chat with me - https://palmettohanlon.tumblr.com


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